Vindicated
by DearCassius
Summary: Ande Hanson is sick of watching her world crumble around her. In a moment of sheer desperation, she joins Earth's mightiest heroes. But can she stay strong in her fight for justice- even if it means going up against her best friend? Sequel to "Grounded".
1. Prologue

_**WARNING**_**: This is a sequel to my first story, Grounded. I highly recommend reading that one first because it gives a lot more background on my characters.**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Midgard was falling. The never ending waves of oppression threatened to overcome the mortal's minds, with or without his assistance. One by one, the strong points of the world fell by his hands._

_Only one still stood strong, the strongest of all, a beacon of hope in this sea of destruction. And soon, it would crumble as well. The United States of America stood no chance against his forces._

_He prepared his army and stepped forward to fight._

**0-0-0-0**

Ande Hanson maneuvered carefully down the hallway in her high-heels, attempting not to spill the hot coffee from the cup she was carrying. She reached a flight of stairs, and sighed angrily. Slowly she began to descend them. One step at a time, she kept repeating in her head, just one step at a time.

Her shriek split the quiet facility air as she felt her feet suddenly fly from beneath her. She went down, hitting the tiled floor roughly and frantically tried to keep the coffee from splashing on her. She slid down the remainder of the small staircase, landing with a thump at the bottom.

Ande squeezed her eyes shut until she felt certain she wasn't going to slide anymore and hesitantly opened them to assess the damage. She noted with pride that the coffee hadn't spilt a single drop and congratulated herself on the ninja skills she didn't often possess.

Her notebook wasn't as lucky. As she had fallen, it had slipped from under her arm and it's contents were now strewn across the laboriously clean hallway. She groaned dejectedly. It had taken her hours to compile all of that data together and then organize it based on the dates it was recorded. She felt certain her boss would not be happy about this.

At least Ande had been able to spare the coffee- the gods knew that Ms. Potts desperately required it, and making her go without could end up with Ande losing this job she so earnestly needed.

Virginia Potts was a kind enough woman, high-strung, but for the most part, even tempered. It just happened that Ande wasn't the best assistant. She had always been headstrong, too much at times. She didn't cope well with having to follow orders 24/7.

Sighing, she gathered up the remnants of the once-was notebook and picked up the coffee cup. She made a mental note never to wear heels and carry important items whilst walking down stairs again. She brushed the dust off of her black pencil skirt and set off down the hallway again.

At last she made it to Ms. Potts's office. She precariously balanced the coffee cup and the papers in one hand and knocked on the door with the other, quietly composing herself. She still didn't understand why the assistant to the manager of the company needed her own assistant.

"Come in!" Ms. Potts voice rang out from the inside of the office.

Ande awkwardly turned the door handle with her free hand and stepped into the office. A surprise greeted her there; the manager himself was in the office as well, perched atop Ms. Potts's desk. Ms. Potts sat behind the desk in the spinning chair, typing away on her laptop. She looked up when Ande walked in.

"Oh, Andelyn. Thank you. If you'd just set that there-" she pointed to the edge of her desk, "-That would be great."

Ande followed her directions and placed the coffee cup down before turning to the manager.

"Mr. Stark, is there anything you would like me to get you? Coffee?" she asked politely, as Ms. Potts had taught her to do so, though secretly hoping he would say no.

Tony Stark took in her hair still mussed from the fall and the rest of her disheveled appearance and thankfully replied, "No thank you."

Ms. Potts smiled approvingly from her place behind the desk, "If you wouldn't mind, could you make copies of these and send them to the research department?" She handed over a stack of paper and nodded towards the high-end copy machine sitting in the corner of her office.

"Of course, ma'am," Ande said and took the papers from Ms. Potts. She clicked uncomfortably in her heels over to the machine and began the tiresome task of copying each paper.

"As I was telling you, Pepper," she heard Mr. Stark say from behind her. "Agent Fury himself is putting together this team. I really think I should join."

Ande heard her boss sigh. "I know Tony," she said resignedly. "I just don't think it's a good idea."

"It might be our only chance to stop this guy," Mr. Stark said. Ande tried to make herself appear busier as she secretly tuned in more carefully to the conversation from behind.

"So I've heard," Ms. Potts said off-handedly.

"Are you still listening Pepper?" Mr. Stark now sounded annoyed.

"Yes Tony. Please continue."

"Right. This guy is absolutely crazy. He was in the newspapers this morning, because they finally found out who he is. He calls himself-"

A particularly loud beep from the copy machine drowned out the name Mr. Stark said. Ande couldn't help but feel disappointed- she had been honestly curious to hear who this crazy man was. Of course she knew about the dire state their world was currently in, who hadn't? But now they were releasing the name of the guy who was causing this situation. She added grabbing a newspaper on her way home to her mental list of things to do.

"-and apparently he's the brother of that Thor guy who was here six months ago."

The copy machine spit out the last paper and settled into sleep mode again. Ande quickly gathered the copies together and turned to face her boss and the manager.

"Now please take those copies down to the lab," Ms. Potts said upon noticing her standing there, papers in hand.

"Yes Ms. Potts," Ande said and hurried out of the room, afraid they had caught her eavesdropping. But if it really was important enough to hide, they wouldn't have been discussing it so loudly in front of her, would they? And what was that bit about being Thor's brother? She had heard of Thor's return to Earth, nearly everyone had. But... Thor's brother? No, no... It has to be one of his other brothers... Does Thor even have another brother? Balder, of course, but didn't he die in the original mythology?

She soon became determined to find out who this person was.

She figured out the answer to that later in the afternoon on her walk home from work.

Ande had stopped receiving a newspaper many years ago. It seemed like a waste of money, money she didn't have. It wasn't as if she was poor, but she was saving for college tuition at the moment and didn't have the cash to spare. Now she wished she had never cancelled her subscription.

As she passed the newsstand on the way to her house that day, she remembered her decision to pick up the paper. She paid for one, and took it home to read.

Ande was exhausted by the time she returned home, so she threw the paper down on the kitchen table and nearly ran up the stairs for a shower.

Hot water always helped clear her mind and she was reluctant to turn it off, staying in much longer then necessary. She finally gathered up the courage and shut it off, drying herself with a towel before exchanging it for some more comfortable clothes.

Ande combed through her wet hair and watched with dismay as it began winding itself into her natural curls. It became nearly impossible to manage once it curled like that. Giving it up as a lost cause, she returned downstairs and threw a poptart in the toaster.

As she waited for the toaster to finish, she went and rearranged the collection of pens and pencils that sat by the phone, being her usual OCD self: erasers pointed up, tips in the bottom of the cup. When they were ordered to her liking, she glanced around for something else to do. Her eyes landed on the newspaper she had discarded on the table and curiously picked it up.

Sure enough, the front page article was about this crazy man Mr. Stark had been talking about. She skimmed over it, not taking in much of the words, her ADD brain already thinking of something else. However, as she got near the bottom of the page, her eyes and mind snapped to attention. One word, one simple name and she was completely focused.

_'No, it must be a typo,_' she thought frantically to herself. Quickly, she read the article again, this time taking in each and every word. It was no typo.

The picture in the middle of the paper was enough to confirm it. It was a simple headshot, taken from afar, but there was no mistaking the high cheek-bones, prominent jaw, and dark hair. She was sure that if the picture was in color, the eyes would be green. _Emerald _green.

She flew upstairs and grabbed the one photo of him she had left and dashed back downstairs. She held the frame next to the blurry newspaper's picture. Yes, it was him. Her heart rate sped up and she was moments away from hyperventilating.

Him. _Her best friend._Loki.

It had been six years since she had last seen him. Six years since she had first lost herself in his deep emerald eyes. Six years since she had fallen head over heels for the god of lies and mischief. Six years later, he was destroying the world as she knew it. She was on the verge of a panic attack now.

She recounted what Tony Stark had been saying earlier, racking her brain to recall his words. Somebody by the name of Agent Fury was putting together a team. A team to stop this evil descending on the Earth. She felt the sudden urge to do something to help, anything.

Her stormy grey eyes fell on the insane amounts of purple cloth she had bought on a whim and suddenly, she knew exactly what she could do to stop him- her best friend- from annihilating mankind once and for all.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note:**_**Welcome back! Sorry it's short, but this is just the prologue. I can't believe I'm actually writing this. I've had this idea for a while, but I never had the courage to put it down in writing. Originally, Grounded was not going to have a sequel, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone. So here it is.**

**I hope you liked it. It's the first chapter of many to come. Please review! Thanks!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	2. Chapter 1

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Loki did not like being called insane. In fact, it made his blood boil. How dare the mortals think so lowly of him? He was above them. What did they know about his past, about his father who never gave a damn about him? About his brother, who they worshiped so readily, that never bothered to think of the pathetic, weak little brother of his? They knew _nothing._

On the other hand, he found this quite amusing. They feared him and with fear comes respect, at least in his twisted mind. Their brains were so easily bent to his will, so easily shaped to his own creation. He had discovered that little over a year ago when he first began controlling Erik Selvig.

Loki had found out everything he had ever needed to know about the Tesseract during that time. It made his rise to power all the easier once he had stolen the cube for his own. Now nobody, mortal or Asgardian, could best him.

He smiled in satisfaction at his success. He could honestly say that he was more powerful then anybody and everybody seemed to know it. There was only one minor flaw to his plan for destroying the nine realms: the so-called Avengers.

Yes, he had heard of the "super secret boy band" as one might call them. They were intent on capturing him and stopping the plans he had already put in motion.

He knew his defeat wasn't impossible at their hands. Loki strongly believed that pride and arrogance was the worst trait one could possess, so he refused to allow himself to think he was invincible. No, he was fully aware of the threat the Avengers posed to his well-being. His forces, however, were growing stronger each day even as Midgard crumbled around them.

He had managed to conquer several major cities already: Pheonix, Atlanta, and Chicago to name a few. And now? Now he had his eyes set on what was arguably the most important city of all: New York City, New York. Once New York was his for the taking, he felt confident that none would ever dare challenge him and succeed. He would then be unstoppable.

Loki threw the pathetic mortal newspaper down on the café table that he sat at in Malibu, California, invisible to mortal eyes. He leaned back in his chair, sipping the tea he had tricked the waitress in to bringing him and watching the people pass by the windows.

Loki was suddenly distracted by a flash of grey. It would have been unnoticeable by a regular human's vision, but not to his super-sensitive Asgardian vision. He watched the girl walk quickly past the window. He recognized her immediately as the one he had been searching for for several months.  
><em><br>'Well,'_ he thought, 'if _it isn't my old best friend. Perhaps I'll pay her a visit.'_ He smirked and let the folds of the universe envelop him, disappearing in a flash of darkness. Now that he had found her, he wasn't letting her escape his sight again.

**0-0-0-0**

It had taken two weeks, but I was finally satisfied with the outcome of my work. Between lugging the ancient sewing machine out of the attic and the numerous trips to the fabric store to gather supplies, I nearly gave up. Now I was glad that I hadn't.

I was so close to being finished with the project. All I had to do now was make sure it looked exactly as it was supposed to, and then use a special technique my old trainer had taught me years ago to transfer the image into the coin.

I stood in front of the mirror, adding the final touches to the mask that would complete the look while also sealing my identity.

"There," I muttered to myself. "Finished." I took a deep breath, slipped the mask over my face and centering it, then grabbed the small, flat disk off of the bathroom counter: an ancient Greek drachma, stamped with my mother's likeness on one side. It wasn't of much use now anyways.

I placed the coin face up in the palm of my hand and closed my eyes, letting my other senses take over. I imagined myself the same way I looked now if I were to open my eyes and glance into the mirror. The tension felt thick enough to cut in the room. If even one thing went wrong, I could end up stuck inside of the drachma forever. I knew the risks, certainly. But it was worth it.

"_Meminisse_," I whispered, using the old Latin language I had learned so many years ago.

The effect was instantaneous. I felt a warming sensation, immediately followed by a chill that ran up my spine. It was slightly uncomfortable but I couldn't break my concentration now, so I repressed the shudder. A gust of hot wind blew past me, coming from who knows where. I breathed in deeply again and everything suddenly went back to normal. It was complete. But had it worked?

My eyes flew open, only to find myself sitting on the bathroom floor. I hadn't remembered falling. The coin was still clutched tightly in my fist. I held it up and examined it. It lit up with a bright light for a split second and then grew hot in my hand, shuddering slightly. Then it settled down and remained still.

I quickly scrambled to my feet and dashed to look in the mirror. Somehow, I had changed into the attire which I had laid out before: an old orange shirt and comfortable jeans. I hesitated, weighing the odds of my success, but I flipped the coin into the air anyways. It landed by my feet with a clatter, but it didn't stop there.

It spun on its side, steadily going faster and faster. It started to split open until it was two half coins. The edges formed together to create a ring which grew until it was roughly the size of a small hula-hoop. Glowing purple light erupted from the center. I took a nervous breath and slowly stepped into the center of the ring.

The light twirled around me; it was the strangest sensation. Almost as fast as it began, it ended. The ring formed back into the coin, which I picked up and slid into the white dress's pocket. The purple cape I had spent so much time creating gracefully hung around my neck and fell over my shoulders in soft waves. My grey eyes that I had inherited from the mother who now hated me gleamed from behind the white owl mask. My hair had done itself into an elegant bun, and it sat atop my head, bound with a thin, gold wire.

I pulled the tarnished silver clip from my hair and it transformed into my shield. Then I reached up and took the lucky silver owl necklace from around my neck and it turned into my old bronze sword, nicknamed Sapientia. The blade still felt balanced, despite not having been used in years. It had worked and it had been unusually easy.

I was no longer Ande Hanson, the mythology-obsessed freak. From now on, I was Andromeda, Princess of Wisdom and defender of Earth.

**0-0-0-0**

Loki smirked from the shadows, watching silently and invisibly as she made the transformation. Of course, he knew exactly what she planned to do with her costume: she was going to join the Avengers. Or at least attempt to join.

Ande was naive if she thought that by donning a simple costume she could ever hope to defeat him. It didn't mean anything that her mother was Athena. There was nothing she could do to prevent his attack on Midgard.

He also felt a surge of pity as he looked on. Loki knew deep down that they would face each other in battle, whether they were on the same side or not. That was the sole reason he had come, or at least that's what he told himself.

He honestly knew she would refuse his offer, but that didn't stop him from trying. Loki waited until she had flipped her coin again, turning back into her regular mortal self and had gone into her kitchen before making his presence known.

_'This ought to be fun,'_ he thought darkly to himself. He subconsciously noted with disdain that the TV on the table was turned to the local news station. It was currently broadcasting a picture of his face.

Still invisible, he walked with light steps to where she was standing by the kitchen counter, making sure she could hear the noise his foot-falls made. As expected, she tensed and froze in her place.

He kept approaching until he was standing directly behind her. Ever so gently, he placed his cold hands around her small waist.

She leapt into the air, stunned, but still did not turn. He breathed his chilly, mint smelling breath on the back of her neck. He watched as her hair stood on end and she finally whirled around. Fear was apparent in her wide eyes. He relished the fact that mortals could frighten so easily.

He easily made himself visible again, materializing as if out of thin air in front of her. He now towered over her, but he leaned down until they were at eye level. A cold smirk toyed at the corners of his pale lips.

"Loki," she whispered, her voice quavering.

"You recognize your old best friend?" he laughed softly. "Wonderful."

"Get away from me," she turned her head slightly, refusing to make eye contact.

"I assume you've seen me in the newspaper and on television," he glanced at the TV as he spoke, "I've become quite popular here on Earth."

"Only because you're destroying it," she muttered, still not looking at him.

"Yes, I suppose I am," he murmured, still gazing at the flashing pictures on the electronic box. Loki turned his attention back to her, placing his hands on either side of the counter behind them, effectively trapping her.

"Who are you?" she whispered bitterly.

"I thought we had already covered this. I am Loki," he chuckled darkly.

"You aren't the Loki I knew," her grey eyes finally met his emerald ones.

"Then I am afraid, my dear, that you never truly knew me," he smirked.

"Let me go," she growled, glaring.

Loki only laughed. "_Never_," he said just as coldly. She flinched visibly.

She reached up and yanked the necklace from around her neck. It turned into her old blade, one he hadn't seen in years. His eyes grew wide; he knew she was quite talented with a sword. Loki backed up, hands raised in surrender.

Ande lowered the sword, but still kept it pointed in his direction. Loki leaned casually against the counter facing her and glanced around in mock curiosity. "You have a nice house. I'm impressed."

"My sister designed it," she said off-handedly. "What are you doing here?"

"Skipping right to the point, are we?" Loki sighed. "In short, I am here to recruit you. You would be a valuable addition to my army."

She let out a short, mirthless laugh. "No."

He raised his eyebrows, unsurprised by the reaction. It was as much as he'd expected.

"And why ever not?" he said.

"Loki, what you're doing..." she started but hesitated, as if choosing her words. "What you're doing is evil."

"I am the god of evil. What would you expect?" he said icily.

"I'd expect better. You weren't born the god of evil. You made yourself this way," her eyes penetrated into his. He could see the pleading behind her words.

"I did not make myself evil. You can thank my brother and father for that," he said angrily.

"You make your own choices in life. Your family might influence you, but you're the one who truly has control," she said.

"I thought you, of all people, would understand me, Andelyn," he said smoothly, though not sure where the words came from. "Your mother never cared about you either."

She gasped, eyes going wide in rage. "Don't speak as if you know what happened between my mother and me. You have no idea."

"Oh don't I?" he challenged, but dropped the subject, shaking his helmeted head. "I was under the impression we were best friends."

"So was I," she spat. "Apparently we aren't. You're killing innocent people and you blame it on your family. You are so selfish, Loki!"

Loki's eyes flamed with fury. He started walking towards her. "How dare you disrespect me, mortal? I should smite you for speaking to me this way."

"Then kill me. I don't care," she said defiantly, folding her arms across her chest. "It will only show how weak you are."

Loki's palms filled with green flames, and he prepared to strike. But then he thought better. "I shall let you go, this one time Andelyn. Don't expect the same treatment next time," he spit. "If I must, I will kill you without a second thought. I ought to be leaving. I expect we'll be seeing each other quite soon. Good night."

He turned his back to her and began to walk away, heading for a more open area of her house where he could teleport away.

"I hate you," she whispered, but he could still hear her. He stopped walking, but kept his back to her. He slightly turned his face towards her.

He opened his mouth to speak, the words forming on his lips. The words that would break every bond they had ever shared. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to say them.

Instead, he took one step forward and disappeared into darkness.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note:**_** How'd you like it? In this chapter, you got to find out what both Ande and Loki were up to, as well as a confrontation between them. I'll be posting a picture of Ande's costume on my Deviantart account. You can find the link to that on my profile. Also, my FF friend spockjasperlokizukowriting drew a lovely picture of Ande in mortal form. The link to that is also on my profile.**

**Sorry if the story seems to be moving along too quickly! I'm just trying to set up the situation, but the plot will slow back down in the next chapter. I promise. Also, I will be writing Ande from first person and Loki from third person for the remainder of the story. I apologize if you thought I switched points of view too often in this chapter.**

**I took the name Andromeda from Greek mythology. She was the princess of the daughter of Cassiopeia and Cepheus who had her chained to a rock by the sea as an offering to the gods because they had offended them. She was supposed to be eaten by a sea monster named Cetus. She eventually was saved by Perseus, who also married her. It's a heartwarming story. I recommend you look it up.**

**And no, I did not take the name Andromeda from my old Fanfiction account, in case you were wondering. I didn't even notice the connection until now.**

**Thanks for reading. Please review!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	3. Chapter 2

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My knees shook, heart pounding frantically against my chest. The encounter with Loki had been nerve wracking and terrifying and wonderful. I couldn't believe I had the courage to stand up to him like that. I had always been impulsive, but that was a first.

And it was a last too. I had to learn to control my tongue. He had been seconds away from wiping me from existence, moments away from causing my demise. It had been sheer luck that he had changed his mind at the last moment.

My whole body was quavering now. I walked on shaky legs to the kitchen chair and sat down heavily in it. Was I a terrible person for dismissing Loki like that? He's my best friend, or at least he _was_. I wasn't sure what we were anymore, especially after I told him I hated him.

This raised another question to my mind. Did I really hate him? No. I wasn't sure how I felt about him anymore, but it wasn't hatred. Not yet. My breathing was forced now and my head was spinning. Several tears slipped from my closed eyes and fell onto my lap. I hung my head in my hands in an effort to calm myself.

What had I done? I asked myself. Maybe I could have stopped him, I could have convinced him to stop destroying the world!

No, I couldn't have. That was a lie. If I knew anything about the god of mischief, I knew that he was determined. I saw that much from his eyes.

His eyes. The same emerald eyes I had once fallen in love with were so dark now, so full of hate and revenge. There was no more of that shining light they once possessed. They scared me. I hadn't known until now how expressive eyes could be and just how much darkness they could hold.

Eyes were windows to the soul. Everyone knew that. Some believed it, some didn't. Until today, I had been in the latter category. Now I knew differently.

He had fallen. He was lost to the depths of madness. He had turned insane.

_Loki was gone._

**0-0-0**

I arrived at the office the next morning to an irritable Ms. Potts and a slightly haggard Mr. Stark. Seeing Mr. Stark like this was no surprise. During the last several weeks he had been showing up in Ms. Potts's office more and more frequently, usually at least somewhat drunk.

I set my belongings down at the small desk I was given as an intern. It wasn't much, holding only a laptop, some pencils, and paper, but it was enough.

I walked over to where they sat at Ms. Potts gargantuan desk, still shaking slightly over the events of last night.

"Good morning Ms. Potts, Mr. Stark," I said politely, trying to keep my hands from trembling.

"Says who?" Mr. Stark grumbled, rubbing his forehead.

Ms. Potts peered over the desk at me, stern eyes scanning me. She must have noticed the dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep the previous night, because she then said, "Are you alright Andelyn?"

"Yes Ma'am," I sighed. She didn't really need to know about what had happened. "Would you like some coffee?" I asked both of them.

"Yes, please. My regular." Ms. Potts said, referring to her usual black coffee with two sugar packets and a tablespoon of creamer.

"I'll take... Whatever her regular is," Stark grumbled, still nursing his apparent migraine. I nodded and headed out the door to the break room.

When I arrived, the room was empty but the coffee pot was still full. I poured it into two disposable coffee cups and added the required amount of sugar and cream, stirring gently as to avoid splashing. I slipped a plastic lid over both and began the walk back to the office.

I made sure to be more careful as I went down the stairs this time. Thankfully, I had the foresight not to wear high heels.

I reentered the office and handed them the coffee cups. Mr. Stark accepted his gratefully and made to take a sip, but sprayed it right back out again.

"Ugh. What did you put in this? It tastes like straight sugar," he complained.

"Sorry. That's how Ms. Potts likes her coffee. Would you like me to get you another one?" I asked, though I really wasn't sorry at all.

"No, no. It's fine," he waved me off.

Ms. Potts rolled her eyes and drank her own coffee. I walked back to my desk and sat down, opening my laptop and turning it on. The phone started ringing shrilly.

"Can you answer that Andelyn?" Ms. Potts called from her desk, not bothering to glance up from her work. Mr. Stark still sat with a disgusted expression, forcing himself to drink the coffee.

I nodded and picked up the telephone by my desk. "Stark Industries, Virginia Potts's office. This is her assistant. How may I help you?" I asked as I had been trained to do.

"May I speak with Virginia? This is her mother," a rather cranky voice replied.

"Yes, just a moment," I said into the receiver. I turned to Ms. Potts, "Your mother is on line three." She nodded and switched on her Bluetooth.

"Hello?... Yes mom. No mom..." she began saying, standing up and leaving the room. The door swung shut behind her. I turned back to my work, but soon I felt somebody staring at me. I looked up and found Mr. Stark studying me intently.

"Um... Can I help you?" I asked hesitantly.

"No. But I can help you. What's wrong?" he said, raising his eyebrows in a very Mr. Stark like manner.

"Nothing," I said quickly. Possibly too quickly, because he raised his eyebrows even further.

"Look, I've met a lot a people in my life, politicians, business men, lawyers, you name it. Most of them are good liars. You aren't one of them," he said, folding his arms in his lap.

I sighed, "I'm just having friendship problems. That's all."

"I don't pretend to understand women, because frankly, I don't. But I can tell that there is more going on then just friendship problems."

My eyes pricked with tears as more thoughts of last night sprung into my mind. "I had a surprise visit last night from someone who I haven't seen in a long time. It didn't end well."

"Hm," he grunted. "What happened?"

I don't know what made me reply. I honestly should've kept it to myself. It would have saved me a lot of the trouble I was about to get into.

"My best friend is a crazy psychopath that wants to annihilate the world," I managed to sputter out. Mr. Stark's eyes went wide.

"That wasn't what I expected. I thought you'd say something about your boyfriend or whatever. This is new. Tell me more," he said curiously. I felt certain he wouldn't be acting so kindly if he hadn't been both drunk and hungover.

"I haven't seen him in six years. Then suddenly, he shows up out of nowhere in my kitchen. And he tried to get me to join him and his stupid army. I told him no and that I hated him and now I feel awful," I hung my head in shame.

He was silent for a moment. "Can I ask who this guy is?" Mr. Stark said.

I paused, having an internal debate on whether I should say or not. Then I realized that he had probably already figured out who I was talking about so it didn't matter if I told him.

"Loki," I whispered. The name hurt to say aloud. It was like admitting some terrible sin for the whole world to hear.

"You mean... The bad guy we've been trying to catch for four months was at your house? And you didn't think of calling the cops?" he said flatly.

"What good would it have done? He'd be gone by the time they got there," I said, my voice quavering.

"Good point. Well, I can truthfully say that I've never met someone with a problem like yours," he shrugged casually, but behind his words I could practically see his thoughts churning. He picked up his coffee cup and drank a little out of it, but spat it back out again as he did before. "I still can't drink this," he muttered and set it down roughly.

I half smiled and said, "I'll go get you another one. And this time, I'll let you put in the sugar." I got up and started walking back out the door.

A thought hit me, so I turned around and said, "Oh, and thank you Mr. Stark. For listening and everything."

"Let's not make a routine out of this," he sighed and threw the overly sweet coffee in the overflowing trash bin.

**0-0-0-0**

Loki watched in utter amusement at the downfall of yet another supposedly great city. He relished this destruction, this chaos. It brought him ever closer to his goal of conquering Midgard in its entirety and then defeating Asgard once and for all.

The flames encircled him as he watched the buildings crumble to his feet. Another flick of his fingers, and the tallest building in the city collapsed to the ground as well. Screams were surrounding him and the mortals suffered. He had offered them a chance when he first arrived in this city: join him or face the consequences. Many took his offer and his army grew larger. Many did not take it and they now must die. It was simple.

Yet the burning chaos all around him did not quench the thirst for revenge he had been pleading for. Where was his brother, Thor the mighty, to save this city from his clutches? Where was the alleged Iron Man to protect the little mortals? Where were any of the Avengers to _stop_ him?

Another angry flick and the rest of the burning city went down.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note:**_** I took the suggestion of spockjasperlokizukowriting when I wrote this chapter and included Tony in it again. My thanks to her for the awesome advice! She has also drawn some lovely fan art for this story. I recommend you check it out. The links are on my profile. You should also check out her story, "The Gap". It's a wonderful AU and it has Loki in it!**

**I hope you liked the chapter. Was Tony Stark in character? I'm a little worried. Oh well, he's drunk so perhaps he acts differently when he's under the influence of alcohol.**

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	4. Chapter 3

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The knock resounded through the otherwise silent meeting room, echoing off the sleek metal and oak furnishings, seeping into the deep red carpet. At the head of the table sat a man, covered entirely with metal armor, save for the green cloak that was wrapped around him. His gloved hands tapped impatiently on the smooth wooden table.

"Enter," he said, voice thick with an unusual foreign accent.

The large double doors swung open widely. In the door frame stood another man, pale skinned and wearing a helmet with devilish horns curling out of it. He was flanked by two heavily armed guards, though if it came to a fight, they would be useless.

"Ah, Loki. I have been waiting. I assume you received my invitation for this meeting?" the first man stood in welcome.

"Obviously I did," Loki said as he strode in, green cape billowing behind him. "Or else I would not be here, would I?" He smirked.

The cold smile of Victor Von Doom faltered for only a brief moment at Loki's apparent sarcasm, before it returned even wider than before.

"You are as silver-tongued as the rumors tell. Impressive," Dr. Doom appraised. "Have a seat."

Loki pulled out the chair nearest him and sat, Dr. Doom copying the action. He gestured at the corner of the room and a server materialized out of the shadows, pouring each man a glass of champagne. Loki accepted it, but did not drink.

"Now why is it that you invited me here on such short notice? Surely there is a reason for this meeting, other than to share a drink," Loki said with a smirk.

"I have heard many things about you, Loki Odinson," Dr. Doom began. "Many _great _things."

Loki did not reply, merely raising his eyebrows.

"You are a powerful being. You have potential to be the next ruler of this world," Dr. Doom continued. "I know of your plans to conquer New York City. And I can tell you, you will not succeed."

"How _wonderful._A mortal, telling me what I can and cannot do," Loki replied with a snarky grin.

"I am more than mortal. I have been trained in the art of magic, just as you were," Dr. Doom said calmly, resisting the urge to rise as Loki was trying to bait him into doing.

"So I have heard. But you are still mortal, for you can still die. Now tell me, what is your reason for calling me here on this fine afternoon?" Loki said, smirking again.

Dr. Doom studied him for a moment, dark eyes calculating. "In short, I wish to make a deal with you."

"Go on," Loki said softly, cautiously, and slowly.

"You must know that your army is nowhere near large enough to attack New York City alone. That is why I offer you my services. I have some... colleagues I will be able to contact that will help. If you are to accept my offer, I can guarantee your success. Would you like to hear more?"

Loki nodded once, emerald eyes narrowed. He leaned back in his chair.

"I thought so," Dr. Doom said as a maleficent smile crossing his face, covered by his metal mask. "Let's continue, shall we?"  
><strong><br>0-0-0-0**

_'Maybe I need counseling,'_I thought bitterly to myself as I sat at my dining room table, still staring at the photographs spread out in front of me. There were clippings from every newspaper, every magazine, every Internet website I could get.

They all showed the same thing: Loki. I had been collecting these pictures for about two weeks now, organizing them into folders based on the date they were taken.

It had become an obsession of mine, a sick, twisted obsession. I didn't have any reason to keep these pictures; I just did it for the sake of doing something. It seemed as if it was the only thing I could do at the moment.

I haven't had the courage to try my new costume out in public. The coin it was contained in stayed in my pocket at all times. I felt vulnerable without it. At night, I stuck it on my bedside table next to the framed photograph of Loki and I when we were in middle school together.

The phone suddenly rang from behind me, startling me. I jumped in my seat, scattering the pictures that were placed before me. I muttered a Greek curse under my breath as I got up to answer the phone.

I picked up the black, cordless phone off of the base and pressed the talk button.

"Hello?" I said, trying to be polite, but still startled. I never had taken surprises well.

"Ande Hanson? This is Tony Stark," the voice said smoothly on the other line.

I blinked in confusion. Why would Tony Stark be calling me? "Oh, Mr. Stark. Is something wrong?" I said. I anxiously started biting my finger nail, a habit I had had for a long time.

"Yeah, sorry to bother you and whatever, but we need you down at the SHIELD lab for questioning. I'll explain why later. Just get over here," he said, rattling off an address. I grabbed a pen from the holder by the phone and scrawled it down.

"I'll be right there," I said and hung up the phone. This had to be about Loki. I never should have told Tony about him. It's just causing problems. That's all I ever do, cause problem after problem.

I shoved the pictures back into the folder, silently promising myself to reorganize them later. I tossed the folder onto the counter and grabbed my keys and purse. With a second thought, I grabbed the book I was currently in the middle of as well. Who knows how long I'd be at the SHIELD lab?

I dashed out the front door, locking it behind me and hopped into my car. I usually didn't drive during the summer months, preferring to walk and save gas money, but I had to get there quickly.

I backed out of the driveway and began the drive to the designated address. As I drove, my mind spun with all the possible questions they might ask me. I'd have to answer honestly, of course. I was never a good liar to begin with.

I easily found the lab and I pulled in through the tall metal gate that was buzzing with electricity. I gulped. That was never a good omen. I parked and was immediately escorted into the facility by one of the agents. My heart was beating frantically. As a reflex, I started playing with my owl necklace- another habit I had when I was nervous.

SHIELD had been making headlines in the newspaper recently, what with all of the supernatural destruction going on. From what I had heard, it had grown tenfold from what it was two years ago. This lab in Malibu was only one of many now stationed in remaining cities of the United States. They led me through the shining glass doors into a pristine white hallway. The floors gleamed and there wasn't a speck of dirt in sight. It was lit with bright, eye watering florescent lighting which reflected off of the white tiled flooring.

The agent led me down the narrow hallways, passing several rooms where the doors stood agar. I heard the light tapping of fingers on a keyboard and phones ringing from each room. We kept walking.

After what seemed like a maze of turning corners and walking down hallways, he finally stopped. I nearly ran into him, it was so sudden. I composed myself as he inserted a key into the door. It slid open, revealing a large room with grey plastic chair lining the walls and several tables filling the inside.

Mr. Stark stood in the center of the room with another man in a suit. They appeared to be arguing. When they saw me, they both stopped abruptly.

"Ms. Hanson, I assume?" the one man said with a business like tone.

I shakily nodded, wanting nothing more than to run out of the room at  
>that very moment. It would have been stupid though. There was no way I could have backtracked and not have gotten lost.<p>

"I'm Agent Phil Coulson. Glad you could make it. We just want to ask you a few questions about the conversation you had with Mr. Stark last Tuesday morning. Please, have a seat," he said, gesturing to an empty chair that was standing around one of the tables. We both sat, he across from me. Mr. Stark chose a seat several paces behind us.

"Let's get to the point," Agent Coulson said. "We need you to recount the encounter you had with Loki."

I began to tell them of what happened the previous Monday night. Coulson sat straight-faced, impassive, taking in every detail and occasionally writing down notes. Mr. Stark looked bored and restless, slumped back in his seat and tapping his feet impatiently. I wondered vaguely if he had ADD or something.

"And… um… then he left. That's all," I finished lamely, a sheepish look crossing my face.

There was a pause of silence.

"Well, it appears as if you're telling the truth," Coulson sighed. "I have no reason to doubt you. From what Mr. Stark and his assistant, Ms. Potts have told me, you seem honorable."

"I didn't tell you, I told Fury," Mr. Stark grumbled from behind them. "I thought you were supposed to be in New Mexico…"

Agent Coulson ignored him, instead pulling out a small, golden circle with a purple stone stuck to one end: a ring. It sparkled dimly in the bright industry lighting.

"This is a communication device," he explained, holding it up. "Twist the gem stone, and it will send out a radio signal to the transmitter here at the lab. If Loki tries to contact you again in person, turn it and we'll send a squad over to capture him. Try and do it casually so he doesn't suspect anything." He slid the ring across the table to me. I grabbed it and slid it on. It fit loosely. I hoped it wouldn't fall off.

"Thank you," I said gratefully. I honestly didn't see how the ring could help. Loki could still teleport away as soon as he figured out what was coming, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to wear the ring anyways.

"Contact me if anything else happens," Mr. Stark said. I nodded.

"Thank you for coming in. This information will help. I'll have someone escort you out of the building," Coulson said, maintaining his business-like air. He signaled at the door and it reopened. The same burly agent from before entered the room. I stood up and slung my purse over my shoulder again. I followed the agent out of the room and out of the building, into the dusky night air. I realized I had been there longer than I thought I'd been. The stars were just beginning to appear in the sky, whereas when I had arrived it had been early afternoon.

I arrived home just as the sun finally set. I hopped out of my car and locked it before entering the house. I set my purse down on the kitchen counter and glanced around. A window was open, which was unusual. I never opened my windows if I could help it, being far too paranoid after experiencing the messed up childhood I'd had. I quickly walked over and slid it shut, locking it. Was it possible I had opened it earlier, but forgot? Not likely. I had a pretty good memory.

I had the strangest sense that that wasn't the only thing amiss in my house. I glanced around the rest of the kitchen before realizing what it was.

The manila folder I had been keeping the pictures in was no longer on the counter where I had left it in my rush to get out the door earlier.

I mentally freaked out. For some reason, I had grown rather attached to that series of photographs, further proving my obsession with them. I nearly tore the kitchen apart looking for it. After almost a quarter of an hour filled with frantic and panicked searching, I had to conclude that it was no longer in this house. I wanted to slam my head down on the table for being such an idiot as to leave it out in the open like that.

As soon as I came to that conclusion, a small piece of parchment floated down from the ceiling and landed gently on the counter in front of me. I snatched it up. There were five cursive words written on it in an elegant green ink: _This is only the beginning. _

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note:**_** *eye twitch*. I'm not particularly proud of this chapter. I'm pretty sure I butchered it, in fact. Ugh. Sorry. I've been second guessing my ability as an author lately. I love writing, but I'm just not that great at it. Is this story really worth continuing? I'm really enjoying writing it, but if you guys want, I'll toss it. Sorry I'm dumping my personal problems on you. **

**I would like to mention that spockjasperlokizukowriting has drawn some more awesome and wonderful fan art for this story. The links will be on my profile later today if you want to check them out. They're really good!**

**Please review! Thank you!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	5. Chapter 4

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"You honestly believe this will work, Doom?" Loki questioned speculatively, arching his thin eyebrows coldly. He tapped his foot impatiently as he gazed around judgmentally.

"Positive. If you Asgardians can use it, why can't we use it to find him?" Dr. Doom replied simply. They were standing on the top of a small hill in the middle of a large field in eastern Ohio, Loki clutching the Cosmic Cube to his chest as if it were his own child. The blinding blue light emitting from it lit up the surroundings and cast ghostly shadows on both the men's faces. Various machinery was scattered around them, all hooked up and ready for the dose of power to ignite them.

"The Bifrost is a completely different matter. Jane Foster couldn't even use this cube to open the Bifrost, and she built her equipment specifically for the purpose of opening it. What you are doing is-" Loki was saying matter of fact-like, but Doom cut him off.

"I took this equipment from Schmidt himself. He built it to be used in many different ways, and of course my modifications perfected it. Its main purpose is to harness this power of the gods," he said, gesturing to the powerful object still in Loki's hands. "Now hand it to me so we may begin."

Loki considered him for a moment, before grudgingly holding it out. Dr. Doom accepted it with a look that was just short of jubilant. The cube gave a loud hum of electricity as it changed hands. Doom walked several steps to the right, locating a silver canister using the cube's light. He carefully unscrewed the top of the container and gingerly placed the cube inside. Loki watched tensely, fists clenched tightly.

Doom held the can up, blue light pouring out of the small cracks where the lid met the body of it. He cackled in success. He then placed the canister inside a larger machine and flipped a small switch on the side.

The effect was instantaneous. The power contained in the Cosmic Cube transferred itself to the machine. From there, it traveled to all of the other pieces of equipment sitting around them. They sprung to life, sparking with electricity, crackling with the sound of power.

The main component that the cube was located in suddenly lit up in a dazzling array of color. The energy circulated from machine to machine surrounding them and back to the largest one, where it began to build up.

Loki could feel the magic coursing out of it. It was unlike anything he had ever witnessed in all his months on Midgard. The colors danced in front of his eyes. Were it not such a serious situation, he would have laughed with joy at the breathtaking sight.

Suddenly, with a powerful surge, the colored energy shot up in a giant blast. Dr. Doom was thrown backwards off his feet, tumbling to the ground ten or so feet behind Loki and rolling down the grassy slope. Loki was able to stand his ground, deflecting most of the blast using his own magic.

The eye-wateringly bright beam soared up into the heavens above them, reaching the cosmos. Loki hadn't felt anything this intergalactic since the last time he traveled via the old Bifrost.

The Bifrost, the rainbow bridge Thor had shattered with his hammer nearly half a year ago when they fought. Loki never imagined he'd live to see it rebuilt. But as he stood standing in awe, there was no doubt in his mind that the seemingly foolish plan to reopen it had worked.

Doom staggered to Loki's side. Far above them, a figure materialized, growing larger and larger and it loomed ever closer. Finally, it landed in front of them, standing up straight and stepping forward with a dangerous laugh. His face was ghastly, skeletal and blood red, stretched taught against the cheekbones.

"Pleasure to meet you Dr. Schmidt. I have heard much about your work," Dr. Doom said cordially, stepping into the circle of light emitting from the Bifrost, holding out his hand in greeting. Schmidt shook it, looking around in wonder.

"Have I returned to Earth? Is it true, that after all my years of wandering, I am here again?" he said in a thick German accent.

"Indeed," Loki said, and stepped out of the shadows. He walked stiffly over to the rebuilt Bifrost, switching it off. The power died abruptly and the beautiful colors disappeared into the night. "We do not want to leave that on for too long," he said, smirking as he remembered what had happened last time he had harnessed its power for an extended period of time.

He then turned on his heel to face the other two. "I am Loki," he held out his hand as well. Schmidt shook it. "I assume you have heard of me?"

"So I was right!" Schmidt exclaimed. "And they all believed I was crazy. What date is this, by the way?"

"March 7th, 2012," Doom cut in. "You have been in exile for seventy years now. Welcome back."

**0-0-0-0**

Nearly one thousand four hundred miles to the West, a similar anomaly was occurring in the New Mexico desert. One lone figure stood amidst the swirling sand, red cape flowing in the warm spring wind.

**0-0-0-0**

I was calmly typing away on my laptop when the door to Ms. Potts's office flew open and someone very tall strode in, clutching an empty Poptart box. I jumped in my seat, startled. Ms. Potts looked up from where she was also sitting, a look of surprise donning her face. Mr. Stark didn't even bother glancing over, continuing to drink the coffee I had brought him.

"Tony Stark! I have found you!" the man shouted as he marched in boldly. Tony visibly winced.

"Good job Thor. We're proud of you," he grumbled. "Pepper, Ande, this is Thor. I'm his babysitter for the day."

Thor was taller then the last time I had seen him, though that would be obvious because I hadn't seen him since we were in school together. His blonde hair was longer and he was more muscled. He wore a grey t-shirt and jeans. His bright blue eyes stood out on his face. I was in shock. The last I had heard of Thor, he had been trapped in Asgard. When did he return? I decided I ought to start subscribing to the newspaper again.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lady Pepper and Lady Ande," he said jovially, striding across the room to scoop up Ms. Potts's hand and kiss the back of it. She blushed and stared at him wide-eyed. Her mouth opened as if to say something, but she closed it and returned to her work.

Thor then walked swiftly over to where I sat and before I could protest, repeated the same action on my hand. His eyes met mine.

"Have... have I seen you before?" he faltered, eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Um... No. I don't think we have" I lied, hoping he wouldn't remember who I was. I broke the eye contact, glancing sheepishly to the right.

"Oh yes! You were my brother's girlfriend! I remember now. Ande Hanson, daughter of-" he started saying, before I lunged out of my seat and clasped my hands over his mouth, stopping him mid-sentence.

His eyes widened by my abruptness. I shook my head sharply. Luckily, he got the message and nodded back. On the other side of the room, Tony and Pepper looked on incredulously, dumb founded that I had the nerve to act that way before a Norse god.

"Your hands taste like strawberries," Thor said, smacking his lips and crinkling his nose. "Which reminds me!" he turned back to face Mr. Stark. "You are out of these delectable fruit filled crackers. I require more." He slammed the empty Poptart box down onto Ms. Potts's desk.

Mr. Stark gingerly picked it up. "Grape Poptarts? Who eats grape Poptarts? That's disgusting," he muttered, shaking his head. "Ande? Would you mind running to the store and getting more of these? I'm supposed to be keeping Thor happy until we can find a better place to put him."

"Uh sure," I said, standing up and closing my laptop. I grabbed my purse from where it sat by my swivel chair.

"Excellent! I shall go with you," Thor decided cheerily. I looked warily over at Tony, who nodded in agreement at the decision.

"Let him go," he said. "He needs to learn how to socialize." Mr. Stark reached in his wallet and pulled out several fifty dollar bills. "Here's some money," he handed it to me. I put it in my purse.

"Let us go!" Thor said and stormed out the office door.

"Good luck," Tony mouthed and Ms. Potts sent me a sympathetic glance. I took a deep breath before heading out the door as well. I hadn't forgotten how obnoxious Thor could be when he wanted to.

The drive to Walmart was spent in silence. As it was just after rush hour for lunch, there weren't too many other cars driving on the roads. Thor was too busy staring out the window of my car in awe at the passerby to really say anything. We pulled into the store parking lot.

"Walmart?" Thor asked curiously, reading the overhead sign as we walked through to the doors. "Why does that name ring a bell?"

I decided to keep quiet. "I don't know. Let's go." I grabbed his arm and pulled him along behind me.

"Magic opening doors?" he said, fascinated by the automatic doors. "Midgard is such a strange place."

I ignored him and grabbed a shopping cart. Together we walked through the various aisles of the store. I read the hanging signs above each aisle, trying to figure out which one held the Poptarts.

"Aisle nine has the snack foods. Let's look there," I said and we started heading in the general direction of the correct aisle.

I was distracted by something out of the corner of my eye. It was a news magazine. Normally I would walk right past something like that, but not today. No, this specific magazine was one I had been searching for all over but had been sold out in nearly every place I had been to. I slowed the cart down, passing it over to Thor.

"You go pick out the Poptarts you want. I'll be over here and I'll meet you there in a moment. There's something I need to get," I said, still looking at the magazine.

Thor accepted the cart and walked away to get his precious Poptarts. I waited until he had turned the corner before running over and yanking the magazine off the shelf.

The reason I wanted it so badly should be pretty obvious. Loki was on the cover and due to my extreme OCD-ness about him, I felt compelled to own everything and anything that had to do with him. I had already started over on my picture-and-news-clipping collection that he had stolen from me. I was still furious about that.

I quickly flipped through the pages. Yes, the majority of it was about him. I decided I had to have it. I held it behind my back as I walked off to find Thor.

And find Thor I did. Honestly, he wasn't that hard to miss, especially because he was pushing a cart filled to the brim with boxes and boxes of Poptarts.

"Ande! I have found you! And look what else I found," he proudly exclaimed. "I had no idea Midgard could possess so many wonderful options! Strawberry, cinnamon, ice cream, blueberry muffin, my favorite grape..." he said as he sifted through his pile.

I looked behind him and noticed the bare shelves. The "SALE" sign hung dejectedly from them. I interrupted his listing of the flavors, "Thor, you can't just take all of them!"

"Why ever not? That is why they are there, correct?" He looked confused. I decided it wasn't worth explaining manners or whatever to him concerning shopping.

"Fine, it doesn't matter. Let's just go," I said, taking the cart from him. I could feel a headache starting to form as we waited in the line to pay. To keep Thor distracted while I paid for the magazine, I told him to go count the boxes of Poptarts he had chosen. I figured that would keep him busy for a while.

"Ah, following the Loki crisis, are we?" the cashier said when she saw the extra item I was purchasing.

"Uh, yeah," I mumbled distractedly. I could feel my cheeks flush with heat. The cashier chuckled kindly.

"He is quite a good looking fellow if I do say so myself," she said, still laughing at my blush. "Even if he's ruining the world and all."

I refused to make eye contact. I was starting to become stressed, something that happened when I was stuck in an awkward situation. My hand subconsciously reached up and started fiddling with my owl necklace. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally finished ringing up the boxes.

"Your total comes to... $97.13. Can I ask what all these Poptarts are for?" the cashier said, still being chatty. I took out my debit card and slid it through the machine. It made a cheerful beeping noise.

"My friend over there really likes them," I said waving a hand in Thor's general direction, where he was still counting. From his muttering, I deduced we had somewhere over thirty boxes now. And he was only half-way through the stacks.

"He's pretty handsome too," she appraised, handing me my receipt. I nodded, not really listening to her at that point. "You have a good day now."

"You too," I said half heartedly and I grabbed the last grocery bags and set them in the cart. Thor grabbed the handle from me and pushed it along, smiling determinedly as we walked out of Walmart with our cart full of Poptarts.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note:**_** Poptarts. Can't live with them, can't live without them. But… grape? Bleh. Thor has bad taste.**

**A huge shoutout to all of my fabulous reviewers! You guys make my day with your awesome comments! Spockjasperlokizukowriting has also drawn some more great fanart for the story. If you want to check it out, I'll put up links on my profile later. I painted a picture of one event of the story as well. The link to my deviantart account can be found on my profile, as always.**

**Another shoutout to Anonymous Loki Fangirl for leaving a very nice anonymous review. It made my day to see it! But I couldn't respond because you don't have an account. So thanks!**

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	6. Chapter 5

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0  
><strong>  
>It had been nearly a week since Thor had returned to Earth, and he was adjusting to mortal life quite well, in my opinion. He was finally reunited with his girlfriend, Jane Foster, whose name I had only heard in passing once or twice. Tony had stopped needing to act as Thor's babysitter now that Jane was here to take care of him. He still had a love for Poptarts, though, and he had already managed to consume over half of the boxes I had bought for him.<p>

It even seemed as if Loki was quieting down. He hadn't made headlines in over a week now, a record for him. I highly doubted his attack on Earth was finished, however.

On Monday morning, I arrived at work to find a highly stressed and somewhat frantic Pepper Potts running around her office, obsessive compulsively straightening stacks of paper and equipment.

"Is everything alright Ms. Potts?" I asked cautiously. She had always been high strung, but I'd never seen her act like this before.

She was in the midst of realigning a vase of flowers as she answered, "Director Fury is stopping by the office today. I'm just cleaning the office. If you wouldn't mind, please pick up at your desk."

I glanced at my desk in the corner. It was a mess for some reason. When I left on Friday night, it had been perfectly organized. I imagined Thor must have ransacked it or knocked into it. He tended to do that quite often. I sighed and set about the task of fixing its contents while Ms. Potts continued to dash about.

I had just finished cleaning it to my standards when the door knob turned. I immediately sat up straight when I heard voices on the other side. Pepper heard them as well and flew to her seat, acting as if she had been there all along.

"-And here is Pepper's office. She's my assistant, as you know," Tony Stark said as he entered the office. A muscular, dark skinned man in a black trench coat was trailing behind him. He was bald with an eye patch covering one eye and carried a dark briefcase, not unlike the one Tony himself carried.

Ms. Potts stood up as she was introduced and shook the man's hand. "Nice to meet you, Director Fury," she said with a professional looking smile.

Fury nodded politely at her, "Pleasure to meet you as well. I've heard quite a bit about you from Stark." His eye scanned the rest of the room, taking it in, before falling on me. I bit my bottom lip. He was rather intimidating.

"Oh, and this is my assistant, Ande Hanson," Pepper said, waving a hand over at me. The look in her eyes told me it would be best to stand up and shake hands with him, no matter how reluctant I was to do so.

"So," Mr. Stark said, stepping away from where he was leaning against the light blue wall. "These are our main offices at Stark Industries. They are top of the line and run by the best people money can buy." He winked at Pepper and her face flushed a deep red. She shot him a glare and he returned it with a cheeky smile.

"Yes, it is very impressive," Director Fury appraised. "You are not a stupid man. However, I stand firm in my decision that you are not fit to join the Initiative." Tony's face fell.

"I know," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "You just wait," he added in an under tone. He walked casually over to where I sat and leaned against my desk.

Director Fury opened his mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted when the windows exploded behind him.

The blast was deafening. Glass shattered around us. Tony grabbed me off of my chair and forced me down under the desk. Pepper shrieked from somewhere else in the room. Dust and debris swirled around the room, so thick that it was difficult to breathe.

I found myself gasping for air as I shoved Tony's hand off of my shoulder and stood up. As the dust began to settle slightly, a terrible roar rose up, seeming to come from all directions. A huge, scaly foot landed on the ledge leading to the outside of the building where the explosion had taken place and something began clawing its way into the office.

Without thinking, I shoved my hand into my pocket and pulled out my drachma. I flipped it into the air and it landed by my feet, transforming into the glowing purple ring within a split second. I leaped into it and felt it freeze me suspended mid-air as the warm gust of wind enveloped me. With a familiar whoosh, I landed on my feet and straightened my back. The hem of the purple cape tumbled from my shoulders and down to my ankles. I ripped the owl necklace from my neck and the silver clip from my hair and watched as they transformed into my sword and shield.

Then I leapt into action.

Behind me, I could faintly make out the sound of Mr. Stark utilizing his Iron suit as it covered him from his briefcase. I didn't have time to pay attention to that, as the monster lunged at me with one of its scaly heads. I quickly rolled to the side and lunged with my sword, striking it across the mouth.

The monster recoiled and hissed in pain, spitting venom from its slimy jaw. I neatly deflected the spray with my shield, wincing as a droplet of it splashed on my arm. It burned, but I couldn't let my guard down.

I reached out and struck again, getting a direct hit and cleanly slicing the beast's head off. From a distance, I heard Iron Man's arc reactor fire off, and watched as it also hit the creature, blasting another of its heads off.

That's when everything began to get worse. I heard a bubbling, sparking noise and whirled behind me to see the neck I had recently severed split in half and reform into two more heads.

"Vlacas," I muttered to myself. How could I have been so stupid? It was a hydra! I should've remembered that when you cut off one head, two more grow back. I needed fire to burn the neck stumps in order to kill the beast.

I darted to the side to avoid one of the two new heads as it lashed out at me and quickly glanced around the office for some sort of fiery resource. I faintly registered Ms. Potts cowering behind Agent Fury by the large office door. Fury held a gun and it was pointed at the hydra. He fired, but the bullet merely deflected off of the monster's skull.

I glanced in the opposite direction as I dodged another blow from the hydra. Iron Man had just blasted one of the other hydra heads. It flew off. As I watched and avoided the last two heads' attacks, I noticed something.

The sizzling, red hot neck stump did not split into two heads.

I found my answer.

"Tony!" I shouted, frantically waving my sword in the air to gain his attention. The metal figure turned in my direction. I pointed first at my sword, then at the two hydra heads, and finally at him. Thankfully, he got the message and nodded. I rolled to the side and brought up my sword in a forceful swing.

There was a sickening slicing sound and the head fell of, leaving only a bloody reptilian neck in its place.

"Now!" I yelled at Tony, who fired his arc reactor at the neck. It blasted back and when the smoke cleared, it left nothing but a charred stump.

I turned my attention to the last remaining head. It stared straight at me with brilliant red eyes, more intelligent than I had ever seen on a hydra. I was momentarily distracted by them and it took a shot, snapping its strong jaw and barely missing my sword arm. I swung it up and the blade made contact with the firm neck. It easily sliced through and the head flopped off, green goo and crimson blood oozing out of the wound.

Tony didn't need my okay and fired before I told him to. The blast directly hit the neck and burnt it to a crisp, like the other three stumps.

The hydra body lurched back and forth several times before falling out of the gaping hole it had created and into the parking lot below. Car alarms sounded off as the body smashed the vehicles. I mentally thanked Zeus that I had made the decision to walk today.

I finally let my guard down, lowering my sword. My mask was sticky with a mixture of blood, sweat, and venom. I cringed. Hydra blood was nearly impossible to remove from fabric, without the use of high end cleaners- something I couldn't afford.

"What- was- that?" Director Fury shouted angrily from behind me. I whirled to face him as Iron Man turned off the stabilizers that enabled him to fly. He landed on the burnt office floor with a thump.

"Um... A hydra?" I offered, a sheepish look forming on my face.

He stared blankly at both Tony and I for a moment.

"I know what a hydra is, thank you very much. What I meant was when did you learn to fight like that?" he demanded, gesturing to my shield and sword.

"A long time ago," I mumbled, looking down at the ground.

Fury considered me sharply for a minute. I raised my head and met his eyes- well, eye. A look of recognition crossed his face.

"Daughter of Athena?" he guessed calmly. I felt my eyes widen with surprise.

"H-how did you know?" I stuttered.

"I've had dealings with the Greek pantheon before. It was obvious. You look just like her," he added thoughtfully. He was still taking in my appearance. I felt rather self-conscious. I looked over where Pepper was flustering over Tony, glad for something to do other than look at the director.

"You're a good fighter, I'll give you that," he finally said.

"I'm a little rusty. I haven't practiced since I was eighteen," I admitted, still not meeting his gaze.

"I wonder what you could do with a little training," he thought aloud. There was a brief pause. I reluctantly looked over at him and he continued, "Andelyn Hanson... How would you feel about joining the Avenger Initiative?"

**0-0-0-0  
><strong>  
>The hydra had failed its mission, Loki realized furiously. He had sent it to kill both the Iron Man and Andelyn and it hadn't even made a dent in their defenses. They had easily overpowered it. It wasn't even his idea to use a hydra- it had been Schmidt's. <p>

"Oh, the irony!" the Red Skull had sadistically chuckled when he proposed the idea. Loki had failed to see the humorous contradiction in that statement.

But it was no matter. He would have his revenge. With the failed attack using the hydra, he had only gained knowledge on their strengths- and their weaknesses. That would benefit him in the long term, anyways.

He glowered as he lounged on the black leather arm chair his room provided. Dr. Doom's mansion was impressive, to say the least. It was enormous, with high vaulted ceilings and arched door frames. The floors were tiled in black marble that echoed when he walked. The walls were painted dark blue or red. It was the typical villain lair, he thought with a dark sense of glee. So cliché. It was somewhat embarrassing- it made him feel like one of those weak, comic book villains that had nothing better to do than lounge around a plot against the hero. Those villains, he had noticed, nearly always failed.

But no, Loki would not fail. Not now that he had another plan in the works. After the success in using the cube to open the Bifrost and return Schmidt to Midgard, he felt comfortable enough using it to bring yet another threat to this pitiful realm.

Yes, he thought with grim satisfaction. Once the Skrulls arrived, they would be unstoppable.  
><strong><br>0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Author's Note: I actually liked this chapter. I think it's one of my better ones. What's your opinion?

As a side note, I did some research on conflicts within the Marvel universe and discovered the Skrulls, a race of shape shifting aliens that in one case came to Earth and threatened to destroy it. They have some sort of connection with Loki too- I think he brought them to Earth on one occasion. I decided to fit that into my story. Sorry if it seems like I'm sticking too many villains in the plot- these will be the last, I promise. And there is a reason for my madness. There always is.

Thanks for reading! Please review!

-Loki's Little Helper 


	7. Chapter 6

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My heart was threatening to either leap out of my heart or sink into my stomach. My palms were sweaty and I felt as if any moment I would lose the grip on my sword handle and it would all be over. I raised my shield in defense as my opponent took a swing, deflecting the blow easily. I gulped and gathered my wits before lunging forward. My blade made contact with the other sword and I twisted up in a disarming maneuver I had been taught many years ago.

The other sword clattered to the stone floor and the tip of my sword was at the nameless soldier's throat.

The stage lights switched off and were replaced with regular lighting. I breathed deeply, letting oxygen fill my lungs. I hadn't even realized I'd been holding my breath. The soldier I had been fighting exited the room and in entered Agent Nick Fury.

"Impressive," he said in his deep voice. "You managed to defeat him in under thirty seconds. I must say, I've never seen anything quite like that."

"Um... Thank you?" I said, but it was more of a question than anything. My knees finally quit quavering and my hands were no longer shaking.

"Come with me," Fury gestured for me to follow him. My bare feet tapped against the steel flooring as we crossed the makeshift arena. He pressed a silver button on the wall and out of it slid a sleek table and two chairs on either side. He waved his hand as an invitation to sit. I picked the chair closest to me and he sat in the other one.

"I need you to tell me about your past. Start from the beginning, when you first found out about your lineage," he said smoothly and calmly.

Memories flooded my mind, some good, some not so good. I focused on a certain one and began to recite it. "I was five when I learned what I was..."

_The icy winter winds tore against my soft cheeks as I tilted my head forward to avoid the blast of snow blowing against me. My worn pair of purple boots were soaked and my toes and fingers felt frozen. One more step, I silently repeated over and over in my head, just keep going._

_I didn't know what I was doing, leaving the family I had lived with all my life. I knew they loved me and I loved them too. As far as I was concerned, they were my true family despite not being blood related._

_I just couldn't believe they hadn't told me. They hadn't told me the reason I would hear things out my window at night, unexplainable and terrifying things. They didn't tell me why I suffered from horrifying nightmares nearly every time I fell asleep. They never told me what I was._

_I was a freak. An outcast. It was a small wonder I had never fit in with them. They were in to shopping and cooking and cars and music. I preferred reading and writing and learning and drawing. Now I knew why._

_I wasn't one of them. I was half immortal. I was a demigod daughter of Athena, given away at birth because she didn't want me._

_We had been sitting in the family room earlier that evening. My sister, mother, and father were watching television while I sat in the corner looking through pictures of me when I was a baby. The fireplace crackled with warmth, heating the house and protecting us from the freezing storm brewing outside._

_Slipped into the pile was a light grey envelope with a wax owl emblem sealing it shut. I quickly checked to make sure nobody was watching and I slit open the letter. There was but a single slip of paper inside and something silver and shiny at the bottom. I quietly pulled the paper out and read it: "Give this necklace to Andelyn when she is old enough to know who she truly is. She is of royal blood, forever my daughter." Beneath the words was a signature; it looked to be a foreign language. Somehow I could read it, despite being only five years of age and having never learned a language other than English. Athena, goddess of war and wisdom._

_I shook the envelope and out slid the silver thing. I examined it more closely. It was a small silver owl pendant attached to a delicate chain._

_"Mom?" I called out anxiously. My mother turned her head to look at me where I sat._

_"Yes dear?" she said in her soft, musical voice._

_"What's this?" I asked, holding up the paper and necklace so she could see it. She gasped and her eyes widened with fear. My father turned his attention to us as well. My sister followed his example. I had all the eyes in the room on me._

_"Where did you find that?" my dad said roughly._

_"In this stack of pictures," I pointed innocently to the pile. I knew I probably shouldn't have ever opened the letter, but I was an impulsive child. "Are you guys not telling me something?"_

_They exchanged glances._

_"Samantha, go to bed. Mommy and daddy need to speak with your sister alone," Mother said kindly to my older sister by two years. Samantha huffed, frustrated, but followed my mother's orders, stomping out of the room and slamming her door._

_They asked me to sit on the couch with them. I obliged. They then took me by the hands and explained everything- why I looked different from them and Samantha, why I was unusually intelligent for my young age, why I saw frightening things that were unexplainable- everything. When they finished, I had sat there, breathing deeply and trying to make sense of it all. I looked at the necklace still in my clenched fist. I threw it to the ground and stood up, my grey eyes flashing dangerously._

_The windows shattered, letting in the frigid air and the flakes of snow. While my mother and father tried to fix what I had caused, I ran, pausing only to slip on my boots and coat. I didn't even need to open the door. I just looked at it and it collapsed off it's hinges._

_I dashed down the street, tears spilling down my cheeks, freezing in the night air.  
><em>  
>"They found me the next day, sitting under a lamppost. The windows and the door were easily fixed, though it was awkward explaining to the repairman what had happened," I smirked slightly at that particular memory.<p>

Nick Fury nodded his head slowly. He had listened intensely to the whole story, jotting down notes occasionally. "When you mentioned destroying things with your mind... Can you further explain that?"

"I don't know what came over me that night. I don't even know how it happened. I wanted a distraction so I could leave, so the windows exploded. Same with the door. All I know is that I haven't been able to do anything like that since," I said, sighing.

"Interesting," he murmured, writing something down in the notebook perched on his knee. I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. I still wasn't used to being in his demanding and intimidating presence.

"Your sword," he said, gesturing to where it was still clamped in my hand tightly. "May I see it?"

I passed it over to him. He sat there for a moment, taking it in, studying the long pointed bronze blade and the worn handle, glancing at the ancient Greek writing running up the side. "Sapientia..." he murmured, tracing the etching with his finger. "Latin for wisdom?"

I nodded, and he continued examining it. After almost five minutes of this, he said, "It's a nice weapon, considering how old it is and how much it has been used. But it would do you no good in a real fight."

"Wha-" I started to defend, but he held up a finger to silence me.

"This blade is celestial bronze. It can only be used on a mythological creature. What you'll be fighting is very different. I'm afraid we'll have to do some work on the blade before I'll let you wield it in battle. I'll send it in and it should return to us again on Monday."

I didn't like the idea of parting with my weapon, but I nodded anyways.

"I assume your shield is crafted from the same material?" he asked. I nodded again, passing it over to him. "Yes, this will need work as well. Are you fond of the owl engraving on the metal?"

"Yes," I said, surprised. I had carved the owl into the metal many years ago. It wasn't a very good drawing; I had never been much of an artist. "It's the symbol of my mother. Even if she practically disowned me, I still represent her blood." I had a long history with Athena, one that I hoped he wouldn't ask about. Thankfully, he didn't.

"Right. Well, I believe it is time for you to meet your fellow teammates," he said finally, standing up. I stood as well. He swept over to the large metal door and entered in a code on a keypad. It slid open with a whoosh and we exited the arena, me following him closely at the heels of his black leather boots. He still held my sword and shield.

We navigated throughout the hallways of the helicarrier. It was an enormous machine, the size of a large house, with training areas, sleeping quarters, and meeting rooms scattered throughout. It was the headquarters of SHIELD and the temporary current residence for the Avenger Initiative, as had been explained by Fury. Right now it was currently hovering somewhere over New York state. I hoped it wouldn't go too close to the Empire State Building. I'd dealt with that place enough to last a lifetime.

At first, I had been reluctant to board the carrier. But Nick Fury convinced me it was the only way if I really wanted to join the team, so I hesitantly climbed in the small helicopter that flew us up to the helicarrier.

Soon we reached the center of the base. Fury walked calmly through the open door into a huge meeting room. A large, glossy table with the SHIELD emblem on it stood in the middle, surrounded by numerous silver chairs that looked extremely uncomfortable.

Thor was occupying one of the chairs, staring down the table and thoughtfully chewing a chocolate chip Poptart. He didn't glance up when we walked in. Agent Coulson sat opposite him, tapping in a message on his smartphone. Three other seats were also taken, but by men I didn't recognize. Finally, a woman was leaning against the wall facing me.

Agent Fury cleared his throat. All the eyes in the room shot up to meet him. I stood behind him, trying to appear dignified.

"Gentlemen... And ladies," he added at the glare from the other woman. "I would like to introduce to you your new teammate." He stepped to the side, revealing me standing there, nervously biting the corner of my lip. Nobody said anything. They all just stared at me.

Finally, the woman walked over and stuck out her hand. She was wearing a tight leather jumpsuit and had super curly reddish-brown hair. "I'm Agent Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow. Nice to meet you," she said suavely. I shook her hand.

"Um, I'm Andelyn Hanson. Nice to meet you too," I said, attempting confidence and failing epically.

She sauntered back to where she had been standing before. Another man stood up. He was dressed in 40's-esque clothing and had blonde hair, blue eyes, and was very tall and muscular. I couldn't deny that he was pretty attractive.

"Captain Steven Rodgers," he said with a kind smile, sticking out his hand. I shook it and returned the smile. He sat back down and the other two men stood up as well.

"Clint Barton," one of them introduced. "This is Bruce Banner." The shorter of the two nodded politely and sat back down. Clint followed his lead.

Thor stood, knocking over several chairs in the process. He strode over to me and grabbed my hand, kissing it lightly as was custom for him. "It is lovely to see you again, Lady Ande."

"Good to see you too, Thor," I smiled. He offered me a Poptart. I declined, and he sat down as well.

"Now that we are all introduced, shall we begin the meeting?" Fury asked, stepping forward to the head of the table.

"Whoa, wait," Captain Rodgers said, holding up a hand. The director raised his eyebrows. "You aren't going to tell us why she's in the initiative?"

"Good point, Cap," Clint said. "I'd like to know more too."

"I already know who she is," Thor said, shrugging. Everyone else just ignored him and he continued munching his Poptart.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Miss Hanson? How would you feel about discussing yourself?" Fury asked me. I shakily stepped forward. All the attention in the room was focused on me now.

"Uh, well, my name is Andelyn Hanson. But you can call me Ande," my voice grew stronger as I continued speaking. "I'm the daughter of Athena, goddess of war and wisdom. My main skill is sword fighting. And that's pretty much it." I sat down in the seat closest to me. It was a moment before I realized everyone was still staring at me expectantly.

"Can you fly?" Thor piped up through a mouthful of chocolate chip. "All good superheroes can fly."

"Uh, Thor? I think you're the only one of us that can fly," Steve said pointedly.

"Indeed," Thor said thickly.

"So are you calling us bad superheroes?" Bruce said, face flushing with anger and he started shaking. I realized that it was the first time I'd heard him speak.

Thor realized his mistake. "No! Not at all! Now please calm down. I did not mean that insult. But_ can_ you fly, Ande?"

"Well... No..." I admitted. I hadn't even thought of flight capabilities.

"That is not good. If your main defense is hand to hand combat, you need to be able to get close to the enemy," Thor said matter-of-fact-like.

"That's a good point," Nick Fury appraised. "We'll have to figure something out."

"I have just the solution," Thor said, standing up. "If you would excuse me, I could collect it from my sleeping quarters now and we could solve this problem and move on with the meeting."

Thor charged in twenty minutes later holding a battered box aloft. I was relieved. No words had been exchanged whilst Thor was absent. It was extremely awkward. Natasha just stood and stared haughtily at me while Nick Fury had a silent conversation with Coulson. I'm pretty sure Clint and Steve were having a staring contest and Bruce appeared to be meditating.

I sat there, glancing from person to person, absently tapping my fingers on the table. I blame it on my ADD. I hated sitting still, unless I was reading or something.

Anyways, Thor stormed in the room proudly. He waved the box around for a moment before triumphantly slamming it down on the sleek table.

"I have found the object of my quest!" he proclaimed happily. He took the lid off the old box and pulled out a pair of worn, brown sandals.

"Good job Thor," Clint said. "But what do they do?"

"Many centuries ago, my father gifted these to me. I had recently had a mishap and ended up with a broken ankle. These enabled me to move about while it healed. When I was trapped on Asgard nearly six months ago, I packed everything I believed would be useful. When I was able to travel through the Bifrost back to Earth, I brought all I had packed. I figured these would be useful and they are!"

"You still haven't answered my question," Clint said irritably. "What do they do?"

"I was getting to that. Ande, please put these on," he handed them to me. I bent down and strapped them on. They were dusty smelling and the top strap came up almost to my knees. I stood.

"Now what?" I asked, moving my toes around in the shoe. They were open toed, which is my preference.

"Meili!" he shouted and instantly, small white wings folded out from the sides of each shoe. They fluttered lightly, stirring up a small breeze that encircled my ankles. It tickled.

The others around the table nodded their heads approvingly.

"Fitting," Clint said. "Wasn't there a Greek guy who had shoes like that?"

"Hermes," Steve supplied. The rest of the table stared at him in shock. "What? I might be a soldier, but I still had time to read."

"I think they look good with your outfit," Natasha offered, taking in my costume. I smiled gratefully. She was right; they completed the look.

I figured I could easily get used to these. They were comfortable, worn, and still elegant. They fit perfectly.

"Thor?" I asked curiously. "How old did you say you were when you had these?"

"Nearly nine, in Midgardian years. Around my seventh century, Asgardian time."

"Wow. You had big feet as a child," I said.

"That I did," he chuckled good-naturedly. We all admired the sandals for another moment before Thor broke the silence.

"Now," he clapped his hands together gleefully. "Shall we see how well you take to the skies?"

**0-0-0-0**

Dr. Doom had been acting increasingly odd these past few days, Loki noted. He had become more sheltered than usual, spending many long hours cooped up in his work room in the basement of the spacious mansion. Throughout the day, Loki heard various mechanical noises emitting from behind the closed door.

He suspected that if he so desired, he could teleport himself into the room to find out just what Doom was up to. He decided it wasn't worth it and he honestly did not care anyways.

Which left Loki alone for hours on end with nothing to do and nobody to talk to. He found Schmidt to be quite dull. All the crazed scientist ever wanted to talk about was Loki's history with his family and that was not something Loki wanted to get into. He found himself avoiding the strange man at all costs.

Loki somewhat missed his old days on Asgard, pulling clever and deceitful pranks on the citizens. He almost wanted to go back in time, before all of this transpired. Almost.

But then he would catch himself thinking about such things and would mentally slap himself. Now was not the time to reminisce.

Instead, he found himself drawn to following around his ex-best friend. It was not stalking. That was the silent mantra he chanted in his head. It was only a character study.

Ande had joined the Avengers, officially. That idea shocked him. He had never imagined they would let her join. She simply was not powerful enough in his modest opinion.

Nevertheless, there she was, going through the necessary training to become an Avenger alongside his brother.

She had abandoned her home in Malibu in favor of the SHIELD helicarrier in New York City. Loki watched from the shadows as she hurriedly stuffed her bags and boarded the plane to take her across the country. All the more reason to destroy New York, he told himself cheerfully.

Except Ande had forgotten something. She had forgotten her collection. Her collection of _him._

He found it the next day as he was snooping around the small, two-story house. She had thoughtlessly left it shoved in her desk drawer and it amused him to see it.

Inside were many newspaper clippings, pictures, and printouts all concerning him. He had confiscated her first collection and couldn't believe she had started it over again.

He sneered down at the numerous blurry photos of himself. Loki had allowed them to be taken of him from a distance. It gave him more of an air of mystery, he realized.

He read the magazine articles carefully, laughing at the mortal attempts to describe him and his actions. They knew nothing. Nothing at all.

It was endlessly hilarious.

They would get what was coming to them, in time. Loki would have the last laugh.

Then he happened to glance at Ande's now vacant dresser, eyes lingering on the empty space where the framed photograph of them both had been. It seemed as if she had taken it with her.

He smirked. He could only imagine the possibilities of what he could do with this new development.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note**_**: It's fun (in a sick way) to write dark Loki.**

**You readers and reviewers are the very best! I love you all, so deeply. I especially love how long and in depth your reviews all are. It truly is better to have a few amazing reviewers than it is to have many not-so-amazing reviewers. Of course, all of you fall into the amazing reviewers category!**

**School starts up again on Monday. I'm not sure how that will effect my updating schedule. I guess we'll just have to figure it out as we go.**

**Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	8. Chapter 7

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"Thor," I called out nervously, shifting from foot to foot. The small wings by my ankles fluttered rapidly. "Maybe we should try this another time..." My voice trailed off as I glanced at the open door again.

"Nonsense! You'll do wonderfully. I don't understand why you are worrying so much," Thor chuckled, clapping me on the shoulder. My knees buckled from the sheer weight of his hand.

I stuck my head out the door, keeping my feet firmly planted on the helicarrier floor. Looking down at the busy streets of the city below, I suddenly remembered the reason I never had liked heights.

"Are you sure this is safe?" My voice quavered. My hands were shaking as quickly as my heart was beating.

"Of course," he gave me a weird look. "I'll be with you the entire time. You will be quite safe. Are you ready?"

"No-" I started to say, but it was too late. With a forceful shove, Thor pushed me out of the opening and I went rushing to the ground. I couldn't even hear my own thoughts over my screaming. My arms were flailing and my legs kicking, trying to right myself.

Time seemed to speed up and it was if somebody had pressed fast forward as I went hurtling to the earth. I clenched my eyes shut as I prepared for the impact. I silently cursed Thor for having the great idea to have me sky dive out of the helicarrier when I had only barely learned how to fly with my sandals.

Then... Everything stopped. There was no wind rushing through my hair. No feeling of free-falling. No anything.

Was I dead?

I forced my eyes open to assess the situation.

No. I wasn't dead. I was fluttering one hundred yards above the streets of New York City. Passerby below were staring up at me curiously, though they should be used to things like this by now, what with the helicarrier a slight thirty-thousand feet above them.

I spun gently in a circle. This was the weirdest sensation. I heard a cheerful laugh from behind and turned to see Thor floating next to me.

"This isn't so bad, is it?" he boomed, still laughing.

"No... This is actually kind of cool," I murmured. I was being honest too. I liked the feeling of floating. It was peaceful and surreal. The wings on my sandals were fluttering faster than ever, keeping me afloat.

"Now that you have gotten used to being airborne, would you like to learn how to fly?" his sky blue eyes glinted with amusement at my ridiculous grin.

"F-fly?" I stuttered. He grabbed my hand and lurched upward. I soared up with him. We went higher and higher, past the tops of the building, ascending even above the helicarrier. I then realized that Thor was no longer clutching my hand.

After the initial freak out moment, I spotted him somewhere below me. I dived down to meet him.

"It's great, is it not?" he asked with a wide smile.

"Yeah... It's amazing," I said.

You could see the entire twinkling city of Manhattan from up here, and even parts of Brooklyn. The bridges connecting the rest of New York State with the island were clearly visible, stretching like rulers to accommodate the never ending supply of commuters. The buildings looked like Lego blocks and the people were but specks of dust. In the dusky night, the city was lit up with all of its bright lights.

It should have been cold, what with us being up so high. But for some reason, it wasn't. I attributed that to the magic properties of the sandals. They must have a regulating temperature or something of the like.

The Hudson River wound like a snake around the island, glittering with the city lights. Even if it was smelly and polluted, right now it was beautiful.

"Race you!" I shouted and dove down again, speeding towards the waters.

"Hey! No fair!" Thor shouted indignantly. From above, I heard a whoosh as he sped to join me.

I soared down towards the river with him trying to catch up. These sandals were certainly speedy. I reached the swift water and stretched out a finger, laughing when I saw myself reflected back through the pollution. My toes skimmed the surface, stirring up a spray. It was almost magical.

I twisted in midair and watched as I passed under a bridge. I was unsure of which one- possibly the Manhattan Bridge, judging by the inner structures. I couldn't even smell the stench of the water, so lost in this glorious moment. I turned back so my stomach faced the water again.

The distant sounds of heavy traffic and the rushing river was enough to make me forget Thor was following me.

"Caught you!" He shouted gleefully, grabbing me from around my waist. I shrieked, unprepared for the sudden gesture. Due to my flailing, his laughing, and our combined weight, we plummeted into the river with a tremendous splash.

The water was dark, deep, and cold and tasted disgusting as it rushed into my open mouth. I desperately hoped I wouldn't grow an extra eye from this or something. My lungs felt about to burst from lack of oxygen. I shot towards the surface, spluttering wetly as I gasped in the chilly air.

I attempted to tread water and hug myself for warmth at the same time as Thor's head broke the surface beside me. He shook the water out of his golden hair and began to apologize profusely.

"Ande! I am so sorry. I did not mean to cause us to crash. It was an accident-" he said quickly, grabbing my arm.

I cut him off.

"It's fine Thor. Just get us out of this water right now," I said, teeth chattering. I really hated the cold weather during the month of March. Wasn't March supposed to be during spring and wasn't spring supposed to be warm? Apparently, the Hudson River didn't realize this.

"Right," he agreed and grabbed me hands, pulling us to the garbage covered river bank.

We heaved up onto shore, both shivering and coughing. I sat and pulled my knees to my chest, sinking slightly in the mud. My entire body was sopping and freezing and my sandals were soaked. The wings were wilting. There was no way I could fly back using them until they dried. I groaned.

"Come on Ande, I'll fly us both back up to the helicarrier. I'm really sorry," Thor mumbled, standing up. He reached down and pulled me up beside him, looping his strong arm around my waist.

We lifted up off the ground and I huddled to his chest, still trembling. The wind whipped against my wet face painfully. I cringed, realizing how gross and messy I probably looked.

Our feet touched the steel, thankfully solid flooring of the helicarrier as Thor set us gently down in the still open doorway. I stumbled and almost collapsed to the floor, but I caught myself just in time.

"May I walk you back to your quarters?" Thor asked hesitantly, still feeling bad about our unplanned river expedition.

"That'd be grea- Oh Hades," I cursed. I felt like I was about to cry. All I wanted to do was shower and sleep, but it seemed as if those plans would have to wait. "This is my first day here. I haven't even been assigned a room."

"Let's go find Director Fury. Quick, before my armor starts rusting," he offered his arm and I took it. We exited the airlock room and walked down the metal hallway, passing several open doors.

My wet sandals flopped sadly on the flooring as he walked. Of course, Fury was nowhere to be found. Eventually, we deduced that he must be in the main meeting room, as usual. I'd rather fall in the water again then face the other Avengers looking like this. They'd think I was incompetent. Or an idiot.

Thor guided me into the room, which  
>was full. Just my luck. Nick Fury was indeed there, standing at the head of the conference table. My other new teammates were filling the remaining chairs.<p>

When we entered, the room fell silent, other than the slow dripping as water fell from our soaking clothes.

Thor cleared his throat. "Director Fury, Miss Hanson has not been assigned any quarters. She wishes to request some."

Still silence. Everyone was staring at us, taking in our hilarious state. Finally, Steve broke the silence.

"What... Happened to you two?" he cautiously asked.

"Why are you so wet?" Clint crinkled his nose and added, "And smelly."

"We went swimming," I grumbled sheepishly, rolling my eyes. Thor nodded his head reluctantly and looked off to the side.

More silence.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Fury demanded, looking at us as if we were insane. "We can't afford either of you getting sick!"

"Actually, I kind of knocked us into the water..." Thor admitted, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

There was no noise for a heartbeat, and then the room burst out laughing. Even the overly serious director cracked a smile. I felt my face heat up and I looked at Thor, who was staring guiltily at the floor.

To this day, it is still the most mortifying experience of my career as an Avenger.

**0-0-0-0**

_She was unarmed, unprepared, and unaware of what was to come. Such an easy target, he thought and smirked viciously. They were both in an abandoned hallway that somewhat reminded him of the mortal school he was forced to attend. Ah, yes. That's where they were. He remembered that his locker was located just to the right of where he crouched._

_She was several paces away from him, standing by where her locker was, seemingly waiting for something. Waiting for him? It was possible. She used to do that every morning so they could walk to class together._

_Her back was turned towards him, never knowing of the terror just behind her. It was a fitting way for her to die; in the same place she had met him all of those years ago. This is what you get when you make friends with strangers._

_He clutched the silver dagger tighter in his fist and slowly and silently stalked up to her. His footsteps did not make any noise. All the better._

_It was so easy to run the knife through the delicate flesh on her back. Blood seeped through the white dress she was wearing, staining both it and her violet cape. She did not scream. Instead she squeaked, gasped and whirled around to face him, tears in her stormy grey eyes._

_He wrenched the knife out of her, grinning sadistically. The light in her eyes was fading rapidly. She'd be dead soon, another casualty of the war he was winning._

_All it took was two words to make him regret his actions. Two simple words._

_"Loki... Why?" she gasped, tears streaming down her cheeks. The last thing she ever did was touch him lightly on the face. She fell backwards to the ground, life drained completely._

_He looked at her lifeless, crumpled form, appalled for once in his life at what he had done. The spot where she had touched him burned. It triggered a memory when she touched him there, though he couldn't quite recall it. He stumbled back, dropping his dagger. It clattered down to the tiled floor. His screams of rage and insanity echoed off the metal lockers as he sunk to his knees._

_He looked down. His hands were drenched in her blood, dark red glistening sickly in the florescent light._

Loki awoke with a start, clawing the bed sheets with his finger nails. His emerald eyes were wide with terror and he sat up straight in his lavish bed. He tasted something sour and bitter in his mouth, but he didn't really want to know what it was.

He looked at his pale hands. Pale. Not bloody. They were clean.

He hung his head in his hands, trying to make sense of what he had just seen- what he had just done. Subconsciously, he raised his fingers and touched that same spot on his cheek. It was hot under his hand. He had killed her- his best friend.

But it was only a dream.

... Wasn't it?

It had seemed so real. He couldn't stand not knowing. Loki threw back his covers and clambered out of his bed. The room was dark and silent. Eerie, almost.

With a snap of his fingers, he was clothed in his regular day wear. He quickly strapped on his leather boots, trying to calm his frantic heart.

This was wrong. He shouldn't feel this way. She was only a mortal, disposable, and a threat to his plans. She shouldn't mean anything to him, anything at all. But nothing could change his mind now, so he stepped forth and teleported.

His feet hit the soft carpeting of her quarters on board the SHIELD helicarrier. He let his eyes adjust to the light a moment, before scanning the room. He crossed the floor to her bed. She lay there, sleeping peacefully; curly hair sprawled out over her pillow.

Loki couldn't help but sigh with relief as he watched her breathe steadily, mumbling every so often. It was incoherent for the most part.

He allowed himself to relax and instead studied the rest of her quarters. It wasn't very big, though it was nicely decorated. Obviously this room had been prepared for her beforehand, because a large silver owl was painted on one wall. Her blankets were purple and gold, her favorite colors. The drawn curtains were a deep shade of grey.

Deciding he had seen enough, he turned to leave, but something stopped him. A small nightstand stood beside her bed, holding a lamp and a picture frame. Hesitantly, he picked it up.

It was a picture of happier times, the same picture he had noticed was absent from her room yesterday. It showed the two of them, laughing at some long forgotten joke. Thor must have taken it. She was fourteen in the picture, the same age she had been when they had first met. It was strange seeing it. It was strange remembering the times before all of this had occurred.

"Loki?" a tired and muddled voice whispered. Loki froze, spinning on his heel. Ande was blinking up at him with a confused expression. She was clearly out of it, or he was sure she would have called for help by now.

He almost panicked, but he was far too intelligent to do something like that at a moment so critical.

"Go back to sleep. I am only a dream," he lied easily, lightly brushing his thumb down her face. He used his most soothing voice, weaving sleeping magic into it. She nodded and immediately fell back into a deep sleep.

He waited until her breathing had slowed again before replacing the picture on the table. With a second thought, he waved his hand and duplicated it, pocketing the copy.

It was then that he made his mistake. Sirens blared from hidden speakers and before he could react, the door burst open and he was surrounded by SHIELD agents.

His mind processed what had happened in those few seconds, cursing himself for being such an idiot. He shouldn't have copied the picture. He should have realized he had let his guard down, leaving him vulnerable to the helicarrier's magic-detecting security system. He attempted to teleport, but-

It was too late now. The sorcery resistant cuffs they had slapped on his wrists were impossible to break. Even using his strongest spell, they would not budge.

He was trapped.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note: **_**Have you guys heard the review of the Avengers movie clip they showed at the D23 expo? They were all about Loki. Google it, and a page or two should pop up giving details on what was shown. There are no recordings (sadly). Anyways, that is what I'll be drawing inspiration from for these next few chapters.**

**You guys are amazing! I know, I say that in pretty much every chapter, but it's true. I really love your reviews! They make me smile!**

**Special thanks to spockjasperlokizukowriting for all the awesome fanart she draws for this story. The links are on my profile!**

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	9. Chapter 8

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

I woke up the next morning with a terrible headache and a weird dream playing on my mind.

I sat up in bed and cradled my aching head, trying to recall the details. I vaguely remembered Loki being in it. He had been standing in my room, but I couldn't remember what happened after that. The dream was slipping away faster than I could try to hold on to it.

I glanced over at the digital clock on the desk facing me. According to the red flashing numbers, it was already two-thirty in the afternoon.

"Holy Zeus," I muttered. I never slept in that late. What was wrong with me? I sighed and reluctantly climbed out of my warm and comfortable bed, heading for the showers.

The warm spray helped wake me up and cleared away my migraine. I stayed in the water for longer than was really necessary before forcing my arm to shut it off. I dried, attempted to fix my hair, and changed into my freshly laundered costume. Thankfully the washers were able to get the smell from the river out of it last night.

I glanced in the mirror, before shedding my mask. It was inconvenient to wear when we weren't doing anything active. I gently placed in on my nightstand and straightened up my room.

I was about to head out the door when something caught my eye. My picture frame was out of place from where it usually sat. I pondered over that for a moment, but shrugged and pushed it back in position. I must have moved it in my sleep or something.

I was in the act of strapping on my now dry sandals when I heard what sounded like a herd of elephants running down the hallway. Hearing strange sounds on the helicarrier wasn't particularly unusual, but this made me curious.

Cautiously, I turned the handle on my door and stepped outside, shutting it behind me. There was a large group of agents whose names I didn't yet know marching down the corridor, guns loaded. Their boots clicked on the metal floor as they passed me.

"Oh, hey Ande," a cheerful voice spoke up as someone else entered the hall.

"Mr. Stark?" I asked, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

He sidled up to me, dressed casually in a navy blue t-shirt and jeans.

"Call me Tony. Shouldn't teammates be on a first name basis with each other or something?" he smirked.

It took me a minute to figure out what he had just said.

"T-teammate?" I stuttered, taken aback. "Since when?"

"About six o'clock this morning. I was just walking down here to wake you up," he glanced at his watch. "But I guess I didn't need to. Anyways, you're just in time to greet our new guest."

"Guest?" I asked. I had a sudden weird feeling about this whole situation.

"Come on. You'll see. They're bringing him out of solitary confinement right now so he can be questioned and whatever." Tony started walking away, down the hall. When I didn't follow him, he looked back.

"You really don't want to miss this," he beckoned. I took in a deep breath and sped up to join him.

The walk to the center of the helicarrier was short and stressful. Tony loped along with his easy grace while I followed him closely. The questioning room doubled as a cage to put Bruce in when he had an episode. Having been here for only twenty four hours, I had yet to witness one of these fits he threw. From what I'd heard, I wasn't exactly excited to see him in action.

The other Avengers were already present, standing with tense shoulders by the wall facing the cage. Steve waved casually at me as I stepped up to join them. Thor didn't say anything, instead keeping his eyes trained on the ground. He looked like he might be sick. Natasha smirked. I still wasn't sure whether I liked her or not.

"Dry off from your swim?" Clint teased. I stuck my tongue out at him and folded my arms across my chest, but I couldn't help but smile. His wittiness was welcoming in such a serious environment.

Director Fury made his entrance then, raising an eyebrow when he noticed the team together.

"Stark, I thought I told you not to tell the others about this," he said with a stern expression.

"It might've slipped out," Tony grinned.

"We don't need an audience," he glowered at the rest of us. Nobody moved and we all just stared at him, silent.

"Fine," he reluctantly growled, turning on his heel and walking swiftly over to the console containing the controls for the various features of the room. He started typing on the touch screen remote.

The doors to the left of where we had entered slid open with a metallic whoosh. From down the hall, boots of agents clicked as they marched forward, coming into view as the hall curved and opened into this spacious room.

The agents were the same as I had seen earlier, dressed in high tech armor and carrying loaded weapons. There was near a dozen of them. They were guarding someone.

As soon as I saw the extra face in the mix, I honestly wished I had never gotten out of bed this morning.

Of course, it was Loki. Captured. Arrested. In for questioning. He looked calm- far too calm. In fact, he had a slight grin plastered on his pale face. I didn't even want to know how they caught him.

I glanced quickly over to Thor, who looked sicker than ever. He wasn't even looking at the group of agents and the prisoner, instead examining the ceiling.

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I turned my head to meet a sadistic emerald stare penetrating into my mind. His smile grew even wider when my eyes met his. He raised an eyebrow. I glared back at him and held my ground.

The group of agents marched him into the super strong containment unit, shoving him roughly in. I couldn't help but notice how thin he had become since I had last seen him. The guy needed a Poptart or something. My ADD mind vaguely wondered if Thor had any left and if I could possibly sneak one to Loki. I mentally slapped myself.

The container itself was comprised of a sleek steel floor and rounded glass wall, creating a cylinder of sorts. I assumed the glass must have some secret strengthening system behind it, because it appeared rather thin. It was soundproof as well.

The guards backed out and Nick Fury entered the chamber. The door locked shut behind him.

"Come on. There's a monitor in the next room over," Tony said, walking quickly out of the room. Clint and Steve followed him, trailed by Natasha and Bruce. I went out the door next, Thor shuffling slowly after me.

As promised, there was a small room with a large monitor attached to the wall. Everyone was gathered around it, joined by another agent I didn't yet know. Fury and Loki's voices crackled from a speaker and the picture flickered slightly.

"... You try to escape, you so much as scratch this glass," Fury threatened, flipping a switch on a remote he pulled from his pocket. The floor underneath them slid open to reveal a gaping hole to the Earth. "Thirty-Thousand feet straight down in a steel trap."

Loki looked amused. "It's an impressive cage," he replied with a sarcastic tone. "But it's not built for me."

Fury started pacing back and forth and I could faintly make out the sound of his boots tapping on the steel. "It's built for something much stronger than you," he snapped.

Loki smirked. "How desperate are you, to call on such lost creatures to defend you?" He leaned casually against the glass wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

"How desperate am I?" Fury growled. I could've sworn I saw his eye twitch just then. "You threaten my world with war. You possess a force you can't control. You talk about peace, but you kill because its fun… "

"It burns you to be so close," Loki said, unaffected."You had the Tesseract. You could have had power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share?" His snaky smile faded. "Allow me to remind you what real power is."

Fury waved him off and descended the metal steps, leaving Loki alone in the otherwise empty chamber. "Well, let me know if 'Real Power' wants a magazine or something."

The door sealed shut behind him. Loki's attention turned up to the camera monitoring him, the camera that we were watching. He glowered at it for a moment before it was replaced by a vicious smirk.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Bruce piped up.

Nobody responded, but the truth rang in his words.

**0-0-0-0**

This cage was driving him insane. It felt like any moment his head would explode from thinking of all the possible escape methods. His chance of exiting this godforsaken room was slim, but that didn't stop him from trying.

He was still cuffed and his wrists were beginning to ache from it. All he wanted right now was to bust out with his magic but it was proving impossible to do that. 'Stupid magic resistant chains,' he cursed in his head.

The god of mischief finally resorted to sitting up against the cool glass, letting his head rest on it. He sighed, frustrated. Dr. Doom had the cube at the mansion and Loki shuddered to think what they could possibly be doing with it without his supervision.

Food has been brought to him through a slender chute. He hadn't bothered touching it. No, he refused to sink down to that level. He wasn't even sure how they expected him to eat it, what with his hands secured behind his back.

Loki missed his helmet. At least then he could have something to try and smash the glass with if all else failed.

His thoughts were interrupted by the echoing sound of footsteps coming his way. He stood up, trying to see out of the glass, but it was only a one way piece of material. As hard as he tried, he could only see his ghostly reflection looking back at him.

The door to the room slid open with a bang. His visitor entered, flanked by several guards, looking around and taking in the surroundings. Loki recognized him as the man behind the iron mask, Tony Stark.

"To what do I owe this great pleasure, Mr. Stark?" he said suavely.

"I thought you might want a break from time-out," Stark replied. Upon noticing Loki's eyes suddenly lighting up, he continued, "Trying to escape would be pointless. Don't even try."

Loki considered the offer a moment. Tony Stark was taking a big risk in even allowing him access to whatever lay beyond this room and that intrigued Loki.

He nodded once, a slow, calculating nod.

"Excellent. Follow me," he turned sharply and walked boldly from the room. Loki smirked and followed. The two guards surrounded the both of them.

Stark didn't lead him very far before they went into what appeared to be a bar. The counter was sleek silver and behind it stood numerous glass cabinets holding hundreds of bottles in all shapes and sizes. The officer behind Loki unlocked one of his hands from the other, though his magic was still useless as long as the cuffs were even touching his skin.

"Welcome to my personal bar that Fury doesn't really approve of," Stark said, spreading his hands in a proud gesture.

"Does he even approve that you let me out?" Loki questioned, eyebrows raised.

"He doesn't know, so don't make a scene and he won't have to find out," Stark was actually being serious for once, so Loki smirked and nodded.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"Have a seat. Want a drink?" Tony peered into the closest bottle, swirling around the contents.

Loki eyed him. Tony Stark was not to be trusted, but he was rather thirsty…

"Champagne, please," he ordered. Tony nodded and set about pouring liquid from a skinny bottle into a fluted glass. The glass squeaked slightly as he passed it over the counter. Loki accepted it.

After pouring himself a glass of tequila, Stark sat opposite Loki. His eyes twinkled, an ever present sarcasm lurking deep within.

"I want to talk to you," he began, taking a sip of his drink. "About Ande. What were you doing in her room yesterday morning when we caught you?" He was quick to the point.

"Nothing," Loki replied shortly. Stark considered him for a moment before continuing.

"Don't ask me how I know this, but it's obvious that there is something going on between you. This brings me to my question… Why do you want to hurt her?"

"I do not care for her at all. She is nothing to me," Loki spit, eyes darkening. "We are enemies. I will destroy you all."

Tony leaned back and let out a dry laugh. "Let's do a quick headcount here. We've got two of the worlds' best assassins, the Asgardian god of thunder, a demigod daughter of Athena, and a living legend who actually lives up to the legend. And somehow, you've managed to piss all of them off."

"I have an army," Loki stood, towering over Stark. The still full champagne glass shattered in his palm, drenching the both of them. Neither was fazed.

Tony then stood as well, getting right into Loki's pale face.

"We have a Hulk."

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note:**_** This chapter was difficult to write and I didn't even come up with most of its contents. Pretty much everything (except the mentions of Ande) belongs to Marvel and the Avengers movie.**

**Sorry about the delay in updating. School has taken over my life. **

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	10. Chapter 9

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_"Anna?" I called out softly in the darkness. When I received no response, I jabbed her hard in the side with my stubby five-year-old fingers. She yelped into consciousness, rolling over to stare at me where I stood leaning against her bed._

_"What Ande? It's too early. Go to bed," my ten year old half-sister rubbed her eyes and sat up a little._

_I bit my lip. "I don't like the thunder," I whispered. "It's scary."_

_Anna sighed and scooted over, making room for me. I crawled up next to her and she wrapped her arms around my skinny shoulders. Her curly blonde hair was messy from sleep and her grey eyes that were a shade lighter than my own sparkled in the dark of the cabin._

_"There's nothing to be afraid of, sweetie. It's just Grandpa Zeus, mad about something or another," she rubbed her hand comfortingly against my arm. Anna had always been an older sister figure to me, despite the fact that we were only related on the godly side._

_"What's he mad about?" I questioned. Bright light lit up the silhouettes of our other siblings as they slept on their own bunk beds, but only for a split second and we were plunged into darkness again._

_"He's probably fighting with his brothers, or maybe Apollo crashed the sun chariot again. He was furious last time that happened," she smiled and we both burst into muffled laughter._

_"Poor Uncle Apollo. I hope he doesn't get into too much trouble..." my voice trailed off as my giggles died down._

_"You worry about everyone too much," I could practically hear the eye roll that accompanied her sentence._

_I sniffed, snuggling closer to her. "Can you tell Grandpa to stop the thunder? I don't like it when he's angry."_

_"You can't tell a god what to do, Ande." Anna had always been overtly matter of fact like._

_"Oh. Then can I sleep in your bed tonight?" I begged. "Please?"_

_She sighed. "Sure," she smiled down at me and we both settled down into the creaky bunk bed, letting sleep overcome the loud crackling of the ferocious storm brewing outside. _

**0-0-0-0**_  
><em>  
>Another boom crackled overhead and I sat up in bed. Trying to sleep was useless. I had given up with that a while ago, now only trying to block out the deafening sounds from above. I shivered under my blankets as light lit up the sky, flashing in through a crack in my curtains.<p>

I had always hated thunderstorms. When I was younger, they were terrifying. As I grew older, I got rid of the fear but kept the hatred of the noise. And now, being up so high in the helicarrier, it seemed as if my old terror had been reignited.

Another clap and flash crept its way into my not-so-soundproof room. I slipped out of bed and pulled on my old "I Love New York" sweatshirt. I'd had it for as long as I could remember. It was purple and faded and the letters were starting to peel off, but it was still warm and soft.

I shoved my slippers on my feet and exited the room, quietly stepping out into the dark and silent hallway. The thunder was even louder as it echoed against the steel. I padded down the hall, letting my feet carry me. I wasn't even paying attention as to where I was going.

I silently navigated the labyrinth of corridors. I didn't know where I was headed, but something was drawing me to a certain place.

The questioning chamber loomed ahead of me. Inside, I could faintly see Loki sitting on the floor, legs extended in front of him. A flash of lightning illuminated his gaunt and tired face, highlighting his cheek bones and casting shadows over his eyes.

I stood there staring for a moment, relishing the fact that he couldn't see me. I made the wrong assumption, however.

"What are you doing here Andelyn?" his voice rang out through the room. I jumped, startled. How did he know I was there?

I stepped with hesitant feet to the keypad where the heavy locks were located. I slipped the remote on the table into my pocket and I touched the needed keys. The door slid open with a slight creak. I warily walked inside.

Loki sat and for once, his usual smirk did not grace his pale face.

I reached into my hoody pocket and pulled out a slightly smashed silver packet. The door closed behind me; locking us both in.

He didn't speak. His eyes glinted dully in the darkness. He raised his eyebrows repeating the question, this time silently.

I glanced down to my slippered feet before holding out the package. Loki didn't accept it.

"Take it," my voice came out hoarser than I had intended it to. "It's Poptarts."

He sneered, but still grabbed the package from my out-stretched hand. Not breaking eye contact with me, he slit it open with a sharp fingernail.

"Sorry it's a little smashed," I grinned weakly. I crossed the floor and sat beside him. He shifted slightly, edging away. I sighed deeply.

Cautiously, he took a bite of the Poptart. A single hand cuff dangled from his left wrist. The lightning flitted through the room again. He chewed slowly, making a face.

"This is disgusting," he complained, swallowing.

"It's the low-fat kind. That's all we had left when I took it from Thor's room earlier," I leaned my head back against the cold glass cylindrical wall.

Loki rolled his eyes and took another bite. He must've been hungry.

"Don't they feed you in this place?" I questioned, gazing up at the metal ceiling.

"Yes, but the food tastes worse than even this," he gestured to the half eaten Poptart clutched in his hand.

"I'll tell Fury you said that," I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

He fell silent, eating his Poptart thoughtfully. We didn't speak for another five minutes before he broke the silence he had created.

"You never answered my question. Why are you here?"

"Couldn't sleep," I shrugged.

"You don't like thunder, do you?" he guessed. I stared at him. "I've never liked it either."

I let a small smile appear on my face, but it fell when I again took in his thin form. He had consumed both Poptarts by now and he was fiddling with the silver wrapper.

"Why Loki?" I whispered. He looked over.

"Excuse me?" he smirked.

"Why are you doing this?" my brows knitted together. I reached up and took a stray pin out of my messy hair and started twirling it in my fingers.

"None of your business, my dear," he glowered at the opposite side of the cell.

"I wish you would just... Surrender. It's all that can help you now," I muttered, mostly to myself.

"You don't understand," he replied with an edge to his voice. "You never will, I fear."

"Then explain it to me," I pointed out.

"Like I said, it is none of your business," he crossed his arms and turned his face away.

"Aren't you cold in here?" I asked. It felt like a refrigerator. I was glad I had the foresight to bring my jacket.

"Not really," he said, shoulders shrugging. "I have a higher tolerance for cold than you mortals do." He smiled like it was an inside joke. I decided not to inquire any further.

I let the pin fall from my hands. It dropped to the floor and rang against the steel. I didn't bother picking it up.

I stood. "I should leave before someone finds me here," I was reluctant to go, but Loki was starting to scare me. He tended to have that effect.

I walked swiftly to the door and fished the remote out of my pocket. With a click of the button, the door slid open.

"Wait," Loki called, standing as well. He crossed the short distance between us and scooped up my hand, planting a gentle kiss on the palm. His lips were icy on my skin and his kisses were a lot less slobbery than Thor's were.

"Goodnight," he murmured, turning his back to me.

"Bye Loki," I whispered and exited the room. The cell door clanged shut behind me with a final sounding boom.

**0-0-0-0**

Loki listened as her footsteps faded away into silence. He had been able to tell immediately when she arrived that it was her- he was very used to the light sound her feet made when she walked. It was only an observation.

Inside, he wished she hadn't left so quickly. On the outside, he was glad she had left. As she exited the room, she had dropped something.

Something that would free him.

A single hairpin lay on the floor, marking the place where she had sat. If Loki knew anything at all, it was how to pick a lock using a sharp object. Normally he would bust a lock with magic, but seeing as he was unable to do that at the moment, he would have to resort to using the mortal way.

He bent and scooped up the silver pin, examining it carefully. He held it up to view it at all angles, trying to decide if it was some sort of tracking device. It appeared normal.

Grinning wickedly, he lifted up his left wrist where the cuff clanked and dangled against his forearm. He inserted the pin and twisted it around several times, feeling around for the main component.

With a click and a clatter, it fell to the metal ground below. He slipped the pin into his pocket. Perhaps it would come in handy later. It hit against something else in his pocket.

He pulled it out. It was the duplicate of the picture he had taken- SHIELD had obviously forgotten to take it. Loki gazed at it for a moment in the darkness before replacing it in his pocket. With a flick of his fingers, he left one last message for his old best friend to find in the morning.

_'Mortals,'_ he thought to himself, _'are so clueless.'_

With a twist and a step, he disappeared into the overwhelming blackness.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note:**_** I'm having fun writing these flashback scenes. Who knows? I may just write a different story piecing together Ande's life. I'll consider it.**

**And Loki has escaped again. Clever trickster. He's always causing mischief. **

**I came across something very interesting the other day while I was bopping around Yahoo Answers. Apparently somebody is pretending to be Loki on there and asking Loki-like questions. I don't know who it is, but whoever they are, it's pretty interesting. It even mentions Poptarts several times, which I find endlessly amusing. I'll try and post a link to that on my Fanfiction profile.**

**Thanks for reading! Please review, you wonderful people!**

**-Loki's Little Helper **


	11. Chapter 10

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"I took a big risk in letting you join this team Ms. Hanson. And this is what you have to show for it? Letting our greatest enemy escape? What were you thinking?" Nick Fury shouted, pacing back and forth in the official meeting room.

The other Avengers sat around the table. None were making eye contact with me. Instead they were glancing around the room or staring down at the floor silently.

"I didn't mean to let him go," I defended myself. "That wasn't my intention!"

"If you would have asked for permission to visit him, this would never have happened." Fury stopped and banged his fist on the sleek table, causing it to wobble a bit.

"You wouldn't have let me visit him," I pointed out. Across the table, Steve started drumming his fingers. The noise made me restless and angry.

"Exactly," Fury seethed. "I have half a mind to release you from your duties here and now."

"Hey, Fury. Back off. It was an accident," Tony finally spoke up. He was seated next to me, Thor situated to his right. Tony turned his eyes to me, giving me an all too knowing look. I felt my cheeks redden.

"With all due respect, sir," Steve said as he cleared his throat, "she's a part of this team now. We can't just let her go. It's too much of a threat. Loki has tried to contact her several times. Who's to say he won't do it again?"

"This is serious," he growled. "We can't let this happen anymore."

"Then let's double the security," Thor broke in.

"We have doubled it," Fury pointed out with a menacing glare.

"Triple it. Like Steven Rodgers said, Miss Hanson is a part of this team. You cannot take that away from her." Thor raised his eyebrows as an invitation for Fury to retaliate.

I glanced at Thor gratefully, mouthing a 'thank you'. He nodded slightly in response.

"I agree with Thor," Clint offered, leaning back in his chair.

"Me too," Tony threw in.

"I didn't ask for your opinions-" Fury started.

"I'm with them," Bruce said, gesturing to Tony and Clint.

"It's a majority then," Natasha said. "Ande stays."

"We weren't voting about this," Fury grumbled. "But I can't deny the popular vote." He sighed and continued, "Next time I won't be so lenient, Miss Hanson." Then he all but stomped out of the room.

"Thanks everyone," I smiled slightly. I really was thankful. As bad as I was at this Avenger thing, I didn't want to leave. This was all I had been hoping for since I first heard about the initiative. I was determined to make this position last.  
><strong><br>0-0-0-0**

_I had been standing in the garden when my Mother approached me. I'd been expecting her arrival for days and it didn't surprise me she had chosen this location over all others._

_The weather was cold and small snowflakes drifted down from above._

_"Daughter," she greeted with a chilly smile._

_"Hello Mother," I curtsied, doing as I had been taught to for years when confronted by an immortal._

_"I am here to discuss your mission with you," she said, back straight, with an intimidating expression._

_"I'm trying, Mother. I really am!" I said earnestly, trying to appear confident._

_"I am aware of your efforts. I do not underestimate you, daughter. You are capable. But I feel as if perhaps you are not best suited for this mission. Perhaps one of your siblings-" Athena's voice was calm as she spoke to me like I was a five year old again. I couldn't stand hearing any more of it, so I broke in._

_"No Mother! Please, just give me some more time. I can do this. Please," I pleaded. From behind me, I heard a faint rustle as a bush moved. I didn't want to know what had caused it to make that noise._

_There was a brief pause, and my mother continued, "I will give you four more months, Andelyn. No more, no less. I expect you to have accomplished the task in that set time. Do you understand?"_

_"Yes Mother," I whispered, sighing on the inside. She had never trusted me, always deeming me unworthy of any task._

_"I shall see you in four months time then. Farewell, my child."_

_There was a powerful surge and flash of silver light and Athena was gone, leaving no trace that she had been there. I heard the shrubbery move again, but I didn't bother turning around. Let whatever it was get me, I don't care._

_"Ande? There you are. I've been looking everywhere," a quiet voice said in surprise. It was only Luke. I whirled around to face him. Tall, pale, black haired and green eyes. That pretty much summed my only friend up. Did I mention how attractive he was as well?_

_"Oh hey, Luke," I said weakly, forcing a smile and turning to face him, trying to fight the stinging in my eyes. _  
><strong><br>0-0-0-0  
><strong>  
>"Where have you been?" Dr. Doom said in an accusatory tone as Loki walked briskly into the kitchen of the mansion.<p>

"Small detour. Nothing to worry over, I assure you." Loki smirked and poured himself a cup of boiling eater, placing a tea bag in it to brew.

"It has been nearly three days," Doom pointed out. "You almost missed the arrival of the Skrulls."

Loki had raised his tea cup to his lips, but lowered it again at the news. "According to my calculations, the Skrulls are not scheduled to arrive for at least another month."

"We have had a scheduling adjustment. They will be here shortly." Doom put another spoonful of sugar in hid coffee and exited the kitchen, leaving Loki alone.

They weren't ready for the Skrulls, he worried. What was Doom playing at, bringing them here without the necessary preparations? There was too much to do, too much to get ready. They hadn't even fully developed the technology to transport the alien race to Midgard yet.

Loki set his now cold tea cup down with a clunk. He no longer had an appetite, despite eating only a package of Poptarts in the last seventy-two hours. He recoiled at the memory of the cardboard tasting pastries.

Sighing, he headed up the stairs to the room he had been given. As he passed the quarters of Johann, he turned invisible so as to not be seen by the madman. He was in no mood for being questioned by the Red Skull at the moment.

Loki sat on the edge of his bed and stared solemnly at the dark, wood floor. Their plan had been to contact and bring forth the Skrulls only when they were ready to attack Manhattan. It was too soon. The battle was supposed to happen in a month or two. This was far too quick.

Unless... What if that had been Doom's plan all along? Perhaps the reason the Skrulls were arriving today was because they were conquering New York sooner than expected.

This almost sent Loki into a panic. They needed more time to prepare, more time to plan, more time to-

He stopped himself, a new idea dawning on him. Maybe starting this sooner than expected would catch the Avengers off guard, giving them the upper hand this war so desperately required. 

**0-0-0-0**

The line was long, stretching out the small coffee shop's door, winding down the street. I sighed impatiently, tapping my foot. Of all the Starbucks locations in the city of Manhattan, everyone seemed to be at this specific one. I had been standing here for nearly fifteen minutes and I had barely moved three feet. Overhead, dark clouds gathered, a sure sign of another thunderstorm. I had wanted to get back to the helicarrier before the storm hit, but I wasn't sure I'd be able to now.

Finally, the line stepped forward one pace. I eagerly jumped ahead, sick of waiting. I had almost made it inside the building by now. The door was directly in front of me; I could see into the interior of the shop now. It was small and dingy, being one of the older Starbucks shops in the city. Tables lined one wall under tacky paintings of flowers. The booths were empty, save for one.

My eyes met an identical pair. Curly blonde hair spilled over one of her shoulders and half of it twisted up into an elegant knot. She was wearing a simple outfit: a blue, flowing top and skinny jeans tucked into sleek black boots. Her eyebrows were arching and her expression was one of severity.

Athena. I dropped my gaze, though I could still feel her eyes piercing me, willing my feet to move without my consent. I left the line, received some odd looks from the other customers, and walked shortly to where she sat.

"Daughter, it is lovely to see you again," she said icily, a chilly smile on her light pink lips.

"Likewise, Mother." I tried to say with a respectful air, but I'm afraid it came out ruder than it should have.

"Please, sit. There is much to discuss." She waved her hand in a gesture and I plopped down on the cushioned booth bench. I blinked, waiting for her to continue.

"It has been a while since we last talked. Much has changed, my daughter," she whispered, leaning forward in her seat.

I gulped and nodded. "I know."

"I have sought you out for one purpose on this day. I wish to let you know that I do not approve of your new… job." The look in her eyes was daring me to argue back.

"This is my life," I said simply, refusing to rise to her silent challenge.

"I do not want you associating with the Norseman any longer," she sneered. "I demand you to never speak with him again."

"Thor is my friend, Mom." I shook my head.

"And the Greeks are your family," she replied. "It is not becoming for you to socialize with both pantheons. The Norse are not a wise group of deities."

"Thor has treated me better than you ever did," I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest. I immediately bit my tongue and regretted my words.

"What mistake could I have possibly made when raising you, Andelyn? You should never speak to your superiors in that way." Her eyes flashed dangerously.

"You didn't raise me! You gave me away because you didn't want me!" I almost yelled. The others in the shop turned to look at us. Athena put her finger to her lips in a "be-quiet-or-I'll-smite-you" way.

"There is so little you understand, girl," she spat. "You shall see in due time, I can assure you. In the meantime, I suggest you work on improving your manners before you anger me any further."

And with that, she waved her hand and disappeared into nothing but a cloud of mist, leaving me alone at the sticky little table.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note:**_** I couldn't resist throwing Athena in there. I thought it was time for Ande to have a confrontation with her mother after hinting about her for the last ten or so chapters. If you remember, the flashback of this chapter was taken from chapter 9 of "Grounded", in which Loki sneaks up on the conversation and overhears some pretty strange things. This is just written from Ande's point of view.**

**I apologize about the short chapter. I had some trouble with details this time around- more so than I usually do.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	12. Chapter 11

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"This isn't exactly what I was expecting," Loki muttered to Dr. Doom. The seemingly endless rows of the ancient alien race stood before them, all identical. Each held either a blaster gun or a high-tech crossbow system. The grass whispered in the wind by their feet as the moon shone brightly from above.

Loki had come to dread the times when they made the journey to the stretching field where they had first retrieved Schmidt from the galaxies. Schmidt himself was standing a slight distance away, admiring the outcome of their work. The machines were in place and even from this distance, Loki could hear the hum of the Tesseract as it sat atop its stand. The multicolored lights of the Bifrost had long since disappeared into the darkness.

"This couldn't have turned out any better, my friend," Doom said darkly. His metal suit glistened as the full moon reflected off of it. Loki's emerald cape billowed out behind him as the breeze picked up. "Just watch."

Doom took a step forward as Loki took an equal sized step back. The way the Skrulls stared so vehemently back at him made him wary. Trust levels for the shape-shifting species were low in Loki's mind.

"Welcome!" Doom greeted, voice booming out from behind his mask. As if they were one body, the entirety of the Skrulls nodded sharply in synchronization. Loki repressed a nervous shudder. "We have brought you here tonight to assist in the conquering of the mortal world and to share in the glory it will surely bring. I have been in contact with your leaders these past months, and we have agreed that our time to win has arrived."

Loki shifted his weight from foot to foot as he listened to Doom's speech. As helpful as the man had been in Loki's attempt to rule Midgard had been, Doom was coming across as more of a psychopath each day.

"We beings from other worlds have been written off as myths and legends," Doom continued. "The human race does not recognize the good we have done for them in everything they accomplish. This is not right. We are here to put them in their place. They should worship and fear us, not scoff at the thought that we truly exist." 

'W_hat was Doom talking about?' _Loki wondered. He was speaking as if he was a supernatural creation as well, when he was nothing more than a man himself. Loki shook his head and continued listening.

"Our goal is simple," Dr. Doom called out. "We will destroy New York City and everything that stands in our way. Our greatest enemies are no match for the numbers our army will add up to. The Avengers will be defeated in a heartbeat, and the world will be ours to take."

Loki swallowed painfully at the talk of destroying the Avengers. His own brother was a part of that team.

He cleared his head. No, no. He had no brother. Not anymore. Thor meant _nothing_ to him, nothing at all. Yes, the Avenger Initiative would fall as quickly as Manhattan would once they attacked.

"We will invade the city in one week's time. Prepare for the greatest battle Earth will ever see. Prepare to extract revenge on the mortals. Prepare to win," Doom finished with a flourish. The first row of aliens face's contorted into a sickening sneer and like a wave in a pond, it rippled out until each Skrull wore a matching grin.

The sight was eerie, unnatural, and irregular. It made the god of mischief's heart tighten. He knew then that no matter how convinced Dr. Doom was that they could manipulate these creatures, there was room for fault. There always was.

**0-0-0-0**

The buzzer on my pager went off, rattling shrilly against the wooden surface on which it sat. I blinked, setting my book aside, and snatched it off the table. A little window popped up as I pressed the main button.

"Avengers to meeting room, ASAP," the message read. I tossed the device back on the nightstand and slid out of my warm bed. There was more thunder tonight. It was the reason I was still awake at midnight, reading a book.

I quickly changed into my uniform and slipped the coin into my dress pocket. I bent down, laced up my sandals, and headed out the door.

I met Tony in the hallway and he fell to my side, matching my pace. The walk to the meeting room was spent in silence. A grim look settled on Tony's face as we drew ever nearer to the room. It almost made me want to ask him what exactly this spontaneous meeting was all about. I changed my mind when I noticed how tightly his lips were pressed together. He was clearly in deep thought and I didn't want to disturb him. I looked away and we continued our trek.

Tony and I were the first to arrive, besides Thor. The god of thunder was sitting despondently in his chair, blue eyes glinting with a nervous light. His face was paler than I had ever seen and he seemed more restless than usual. The blonde hair he was so fond of fell messily down his shoulders, waving in unnatural patterns as if he had just woken up.

I took my designated chair as Natasha and Clint entered the spacious room. Clint appeared almost bored, while Natasha shot me a fierce glare. I sighed and dropped my gaze. They too fell into their seats.

Steve and Bruce were the last to show. Steve looked as dignified and as serious as ever- a natural born leader. He held his chest out and walked like he knew exactly what he was doing. Bruce was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, yawning every now and then.

From a doorway to the left entered Nick Fury, dressed in his usual floor-length black duster and matching eye-patch. His one good eye was intimidating as it glanced about the room. He cleared his throat.

"Glad to see you all made it. I assume you're wondering why we are here so early in the morning and… Well, I'd like to ask the same question. We were called to this meeting by Thor. Thor, if you would please begin?" Fury said and sat down at the head of the table, folding his arms in front of him and leaning back in his chair.

Thor gave an audible sigh and stood, towering over the rest of us.

"The Skrulls have invaded." His voice echoed throughout the room.

"Uh... Who?" Clint asked, eyebrows raised speculatively.

"The Skrulls are an ancient shape-shifting race of aliens that hold a particular grudge against Asgard and Midgard," he explained. "They are back."

"I see. And what do you propose we do about it?" Clint said, absently fiddling with a stray arrowhead that he had pulled out of his pocket.

"Stop them," Thor said as if it should be obvious. "They are under the control of my brother now. He has his army."

A nervous titter ran throughout the room. I blinked and glanced down. Loki. It seemed as if every problem related back to him. My heart filled with a strange heaviness.

"I saw all of this- the arrival, the welcoming, the plan- _all of it_ in a vision while I was sleeping," the blonde man continued, a scowl forming on his face.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?" Natasha smirked.

"Yes, I am sure." His glower deepened. "I know this was true. Loki formed a link through my mind many centuries ago. It enabled us to communicate through thoughts. We have not used it in years. I believed it had closed permanently. And somehow... It reopened tonight."

Steve exchanged a glance with Tony. Tony nodded at him and Steve stood up as well, his height almost matching Thor's.

"We need a plan then. When and where will they attack first?" he spoke. His deep voice was gentle, yet commanding.

"We have a week. One week until they attack Manhattan," Thor announced and he collapsed in his chair, holding his head in his hands.

"We better get to work then," Steve said grimly. The rest of us nodded and murmured our consent. "We'll need a battle strategy."

"Ande and Thor," Tony said suddenly. I looked up in surprise. He shrugged. "Isn't Athena the goddess of strategy or something? And Thor knows Loki better than anyone-"

"Hardly," Thor cut in bitterly.

"You still fought with him for years, right? You have to know some of his tactics, at least," Tony urged.

"I suppose you're right..." Thor muttered, sighing. Across from me, Bruce fell asleep, his head making a loud thunk as it hit the table.

"And Natasha and Clint are our best spies. Maybe they should try and plant a link to Loki and find out more about his army," Tony continued. The two nodded in agreement. "I'll work on some new weapons. I have one I've been dying to try out that's in development now."

"I nominate Steve as our leader," Thor spoke up. Everyone stared at him. "Well, he was the first of us. He's a good leader."

"Thanks Thor, but this is up to the team. If they want me as the leader, then I will be," Steve said humbly.

"I support it." Clint shrugged his shoulders. "We need a captain for this team. Steve's a captain."

"I agree too," I said with a smile. Steve really was the best choice. He was a great leader, but he was a good man as well.

"Thanks everyone, but we can vote on this later. Now, we should focus on the task at hand." Steve sat back down, though a grin was still present on his face. "So, let's get to work on winning this war."

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note: **_**Yes, short, I know. I didn't want to overdo the scene, so I cut it down. I'll attempt to make the next chapter longer. Sorry about the wait for this chapter as well- I've been taking a break from writing this past week, just to get my life back in order. **

**I spent longer than I usually do writing this chapter, adding detail and scouring it for grammar errors. It still isn't perfect, but I like how it turned out. **

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	13. Chapter 12

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"Is my head _really_ that big?" Tony asked incredulously, staring at the little stick figure that had been penciled in on the map.

"My hammer isn't that small," Thor whined. "And my hair is longer."

"You forgot my bow and arrows," Clint said with a glare.

"Well, _sorry_ I'm not an artist," I snapped. They had been complaining about my battle map for fifteen minutes now. Ever since I laid out the paper, we hadn't discussed anything other than how badly proportioned my drawings were.

"Can I see the pencil?" Tony reached his hand out. I placed it in his palm with a sigh. He quickly scrubbed his face out with the eraser and penciled in a new one. "There. Much better," he said with a satisfied grin.

"You are not that handsome," Thor snorted, ripping the writing utensil out of Tony's hand. "And this-" he sketched in a bigger box, "-this is the appropriate size for my hammer." He drew some wavy lines coming out of the top of his head. "And there's my hair."

"Give me that," Clint grumbled, reaching over and yanking the pencil away from Thor. "You forgot your beard." Clint added some stray marks around stick-figure Thor's chin. "Let's see... My bow is about _that _large and my arrows..."

"You forgot Fury," Natasha chimed in. "Hand me the pencil." Clint tossed it to her and she caught it with ease. She bent over the map and drew a quick little figure of the Director, taking care to add his eye-patch in just the right place.

"My shield has three circles and then the star," Steve said placidly, pulling his own pencil out of his pocket. He added the extra ring and erased some excess markings.

"Your mask is shaped weird, Ande," Thor observed. "Can I fix it?"

By this point, my eye was twitching out of irritation. It was all I could do not to rip the pencils away from where they were scratching on the paper and toss them out of the window.

"No!" I almost shouted. "No, you can't. Now can we forget about my terrible artwork and get back to the meeting?"

The others grumbled in consent.

"Thank you," I said, forcibly polite. Tony raised his hand warily, eyeing me out of the corner of his eye. "_What_ Tony?"

"Can I just fix my glasses?" he asked. I clenched my fists and bit down hard on my tongue, trying to control my anger. I stood up and walked around the table to where Steve and Natasha sat, tearing the two pencils away from them. Ignoring their sounds of protest, I then crossed the room to the small window. I didn't bother looking at the "Warning- Do Not Open This Window" sign and flung the hinges open. I watched as the two pieces of graphite filled wood fell out of view and twirled to the earth below.

"There. Can we please have no more interruptions?" I practically begged.

"Littering is bad," Thor muttered, but he nodded his head. The other team members repeated the action.

"Alright, as you can see as indicated by this drawing..." I started. For the next hour or so, I explained in excess detail the strategy we would be using for the battle. Clint and Natasha had fulfilled their mission to get more data concerning the armies, and the map was my interpretation of what they had relayed back to me.

With Thor's help, we had managed to sketch a rough draft of the city. I stayed up late that night, working into the morning to perfect it and add anything else that might come in handy. The map now stretched and covered the majority of the large meeting room table.

The other Avengers listened carefully, asking questions from time to time. I could see Thor glancing at the little picture I drew of Loki, probably itching to fix his crooked horns. I had left Loki's face blank on purpose. The other stick-figures had basic features, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not get Loki's eyes just right.

I had had no idea what the Skrulls were supposed to look like- Thor had mentioned they were shape shifters- so in their place, I drew only a small circle. From the information we had gathered, I had needed to place almost four hundred of these circles.

"Does that make sense?" I asked as I came to the end of my explanation.

"Yep," Tony said and reclined in his chair. "I've already set down some of my new explosives in a few of the streets. Those will be our back up."

"I have a question," Thor spoke up. The eyes in the room flicked over to stare at him. "The battle plan is great, but what about the civilians?"

The civilians. They hadn't even dawned on me as I had drawn the map. This changed everything. I flinched inwardly at the thought of needing to redo the plan to accommodate the lives of the citizens.

"Evacuate them, of course," Steve said. Everyone's attention then fell on him.

"_Evacuate?_ Manhattan is a huge city," Tony said. "There is no way-"

"We'll have to find a way," Steve cut him off. There was a determined light flickering in his light blue eyes. "We can't risk their lives. That's the reason we're fighting this war. We have to get them out."

"As much as I hate to admit this, Steve is right. It's pointless to go to battle if we can't get the people away from the battlefield," Clint sighed, flexing his fingers.

"This is a huge process!" Tony exclaimed. "We have about four days until they attack. We can't just spontaneously decide to evacuate the biggest city in America!"

"We can do this," Steve encouraged. "We will have time, but we need to start now."

"Like now, as in _now_?" Thor asked. Steve nodded. "Let's not waste any time then. Tony, can you find a way to announce the evacuation?"

"You are all insane," Tony sighed. "But yes, I can." He stood up and walked out the door without a second glance.

"Clint, Ande, and Natasha, you go help the people get out in a safe and orderly manner," Steve commanded. "Thor, Bruce, and I will find somewhere to relocate them to. Good luck."

**0-0-0-0  
><strong>  
>The city was a mess. The usual traffic filled streets were packed to the brim, fuller than ever before. There was no room on the sidewalk, as those who didn't own a car attempted without success to hail a yellow taxi cab. The lucky ones were able to catch a ride with anyone with an extra seat.<p>

It was chaotic. Shouting, honking, and the sound of footsteps pattering on the pavement filled the morning air as everyone frantically tried to leave the city before the real destruction began.

Tony had been able to hack into every sound system in Manhattan, broadcasting a simple warning to get out of the city before Thursday. The people took to it instantly. I had merely fluttered around the skies as the citizens stuffed their possessions in whatever bags they could find and loaded them in their cars. There wasn't much for me to do to help with that, so Clint assigned me to directing the never ending stream of vehicles as they departed the future battleground.

I stood suspended in the air, waving my hands in gestures as I leaded the cars to the nearest bridge or tunnel. I had been fortunate enough to not have caused a car crash. Directing was something I was actually good at, as it was related in part to strategy. I had needed to break apart a fist fight twice already, however. The pressure of finding a way out was mounting. I assumed even the subways were jammed full at this point.

A drop of water hit my forearm, startling me and breaking my concentration. I moved my gaze to the sky and noticed the dark, menacing clouds beginning to gather. _Great._ The last thing we needed was rain at a moment like this. It would only make the evacuation all the more difficult.

Suddenly, the rain drop seeped into my skin, burning and twisting it. It flared an angry red as I clenched my fingers around it, trying to make the pain go away. I hissed in pain and screwed my eyes shut.

When the pain began to dissipate, I looked more carefully at the clouds. There was something off about them. Something _really_ off, but I couldn't place exactly what.

Another cold drop hit my arm. I quickly brushed it to the side, wiping my hands on my dress. The acid didn't seem to affect the soft cotton. I wrapped my cape around my shoulders in a last ditch attempt to avoid the steadily more frequent drips.

I waved another car forward as the stinging rain transformed into a downpour. It started with several quick drops, gradually increasing in pace until it was a torrent surrounding me.

I shrieked as the acid began to burn my skin, flailing as I yanked the purple fabric up to cover my head. It offered minimal protection, and the fabric quickly soaked through. From below, I could hear the cries of the pedestrians as they too were hit by the rain. The smarter few were the ones intelligent enough to carry an umbrella.

At least those in the cars were comfortable. I cursed at those lucky people while I whipped around to find shelter.

Taking refuge under an outcropping of rock on the nearest building certainly helped, and it allowed me a brief moment to wipe the stinging water out of my eyes. My whole body felt like it had been dipped in a vat of icy poison that burnt you at the touch. I vaguely wondered how Natasha and Clint were holding up as I signaled another car to turn and escape this Hades-hole of a city.  
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>In the shadow of a distant oak tree on the outskirts of Central Park stood a lone figure. The acid rain fell from the heavens to the ground beside him, but he paid it no mind. His shroud glittered subtly around him, unnoticeable to a regular mortal's eye.<p>

The god of lies leaned against the trunk casually, taking in the ridiculous scene surrounding him. Automobiles flew by him in a final attempt to avoid the coming terror he would create. The noises they made as the squealed past annoyed him to no end.

He reached up and adjusted his helmet, twisting it so it fit more snugly on his head. In the late afternoon sun, the gold metal shone as the light bounced off of it.

He had stood there for hours, watching patiently as the Avengers evacuated Manhattan. At first, he believed it was an idiotic idea, one that could never be accomplished. But as the stream of traffic obviously slowed, he was forced to admit to himself the error in his thinking.

He sneered as he witnessed the one with the bow and arrows dash along the now vacant sidewalk, shouting orders into his little radio, avoiding the rain that splashed around his feet. Turning his gaze to the adjacent walkway, he noticed another person.

Thor had returned from the relocation process of the mortals to attempt to stop the downpour of acid. The effort had been in vain. Dr. Doom had cast the spell very effectively- too effectively. Not even Loki could figure out how to cease the storm.

The blonde man paced, glaring angrily into the never ending sky above. Mjolnir was at his side, clutched in his fist. The rain didn't appear to bother him as much as it did the others.

Loki felt an odd pang in his chest as he watched Thor mutter under his breath furiously. His heart stuttered for a moment, before continuing to beat as it normally did. His head was abruptly engulfed with a terrible pain. He dropped to his knees, overcome with the sudden agony. His vision was disrupted, tinted red and spinning. He had to get out of here before his shield slipped and he was revealed.

Loki could faintly make out the figure of Thor gripping his head in the same manner before he allowed himself to transport into darkness.

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_**Author's Note:**_** Did you like it? I hope so. I spent a while attempting to perfect this one as well. Still not error free, I'm sure, but I think this is one of my better chapters.**

**Thanks to all of you who have reviewed and added this story to your favorites! It means so much to me.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	14. Chapter 13

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><strong>  
>"Is that everybody?" Clint's voice echoed through my radio.<p>

I pressed the talk button on the side and replied, "I think so, but I'll do another scan of the area."

"Sounds good," he said back, and I heard the little beep signaling the conversation was over. I slipped the handheld communication device back into my pocket and took off, soaring through the streets of lower Manhattan, searching for any stragglers.

There was nothing- literally nothing. No people, no sound, no traffic, no anything. It was eerie. It seemed strange to think that only three days ago, people had been going about their lives normally, well, as normally as they possibly could in a war like this. Now they were all gone, relocated to New Jersey and Boston and anywhere else we could afford to put them.

I drifted through the barren alleys, looking in every possible crevice where somebody could be hiding. No one. I checked the apartments and the office buildings. Not a living, breathing thing. Even the mice and rats that frequented this area seemed to be absent.

There was silence surrounding me, an unnatural still; _the calm before the storm_. All the while, I could've sworn I felt somebody staring at me, silently lurking. There wasn't anyone. I had only the uncomfortable quiet to keep me company.

Clint, Thor, Natasha, and Bruce were doing their rounds in the other parts of the city. Tony and Steve were somewhere in Brooklyn, securing anything that needed securing and keeping a lookout. We hadn't heard from either of them in almost two days. They wouldn't respond to any of our radio calls. Director Fury had sent out a search crew, but we hadn't received any feedback so far.

I stopped short as I turned another corner. A rustle of claws on pavement sounded out from behind me. My eyes widened, and I whirled around, dropping to the ground to walk. My feet hit the grimy pavement with a thud.

I back-tracked, heading towards the lone mailbox on the sidewalk. Something furry and black was slightly sticking out from behind it. It swished a bit, and I recognized it as a tail.

My hand went up to the owl pendant around my neck, preparing to yank it off at any moment. Because when you see a tail in the middle of a deserted city right before a supernatural fight, you really ought to be wary.

I crept towards the blue steel box, always on guard. Suddenly, it darted out from its hiding place, fleeing to the mirroring alley. I jumped back a little bit, startled by its quick exit. Nothing but a cat, I told myself. My heart rate started to drift back to normal.

But... It was a cat, a living thing. It didn't deserve to die anymore than a person did. So I chased after it, making a split second decision. I flew into the alley, skidding to a stop when I saw it.

It was sitting atop a dull silver garbage can, calmly staring back at me. Cautiously, I approached it. It didn't budge. It flicked its tail again, giving me a curious look. In the darkening twilight, it cast a shadow on the soiled brick wall behind it.

As I drew nearer, I got a better look at it. It was skinny, with glossy black fur. Its whiskers were slightly bent at the tips. A tiny white mark adorned the crest of its head. It was a beautiful cat, despite the fact that I had always been more a dog person than anything.

It blinked as I stepped up next to it. Gently, I stuck out a hand and stroked it behind the ears. It leaned into my touch without even the slightest bit of reluctance. It must have been a house cat, judging by how easily it accepted my presence.

Building up the courage, I reached my other hand in and scooped up the little creature, cradling it to my chest. I was sure the black hair would look lovely on my white dress. It nuzzled under my chin and looked up at me with its bright green eyes.

I froze. Bright green eyes. Green eyes. Eyes glinting with mischief. _Green. _

I ripped the cat away from me and held it at arms length to get a better look. It seemed confused at my abrupt gesture. Yes, I was right. I released the animal and it dropped to the ground with a hiss.

"You really need to leave me alone," I snapped. The cat stared at me, and those eyes seemed amused. "Loki. Go!"

If anything, it only seemed to smirk, the corners of its mouth curling up. I didn't know that cats had the ability to smirk.

"Go! Get out! Leave!" I shouted. It only continued to stare. I met his gaze.

I groaned and dropped to the greasy cement, hiding my face in my hands. It took a moment, but soon I heard the light sound of cat paws approaching me. Something warm and furry leaped up and curled onto my lap, purring. It was a deep, throaty sound, almost comforting. A stray piece of cat hair tickled my nose.

"Why do you keep doing this?" I sighed. "We aren't fighting on the same side. You're the enemy."

A loud beep from my pocket startled the both of us. The cat jumped and hissed again, streaking away to hide behind the garbage cans. I fished the radio out my pocket and pressed the answer button.

"Ande?" Thor's voice came through. "We need you back at base. Steve and Tony just arrived, and they've spotted my brother and his army approaching."

"Loki? They saw him?" I asked.

"Yes, yes, he was leading his soldiers in." he explained impatiently. "Hurry."

"Oh. Okay, I'll be right there," I said and hung up. I guess I was wrong. The cat wasn't my ex-best friend after all. I stood up, brushing the hair and dirt off my cape.

I was about to take off, when I remembered my new friend. I hesitated before crossing to its hiding place and picked the poor thing up. His eyes were more a blue-green anyways. They weren't even the same shade as Loki's eyes.

"You're pretty cute, you know," I cooed, scratching its black ears. "I think I'll keep you."

The cat meowed in consent and I leaped into the air, heading for the helicarrier.  
><strong><br>0-0-0-0**

"What is that?" Tony asked when he saw the cat clutched in my arms.

"He's cute, huh?" I said, holding the cat out for the other Avengers to see. I had just walked in, finding them clustered around the table. They stared at me with incredulous and shocked expressions, as if questioning my sanity.

"Did you _really_ bring a cat with you?" Clint raised his eyebrows.

"Yep. His name is Mercury," I announced, depositing the cat on the table. Mercury took in his new surroundings, before padding over to paw at Clint's arrow quiver. The archer gave the cat a disgusted look and shoved him away. I opened my mouth in protest, but I was cut off.

"You _named _it?" Natasha smirked. She rolled her eyes, but I ignored her.

"This really isn't the time to be messing with cats," Director Fury said sternly, his lips pressed in a straight line.

"I'm keeping him." I folded my arms across my chest, daring him to challenge my statement.

"I don't like cats," Bruce grumbled, pushing Mercury away when he went to investigate Bruce's hair.

"Hey, be nice!" I cried, dashing over to grab the cat away from where Thor was now examining his long, shiny tail. I gathered the cat up in my arms and stalked back to my chair. I glared at the others.

"Alright," Fury dismissed. "Keep the cat if you must, but if it interferes with the Initiative, it has to go."

"Okay," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Mercury is a good cat. He won't cause problems."

"Have I ever told you how I lost my eye? There's a reason I don't like cats," he growled. "Anyways, I called you all back to discuss a very important development. Loki has been spotted. He's heading our way now."

Silence fell around the table. The only sound was the various beeping and ticking coming from the monitors against the side wall. I couldn't believe this was happening so suddenly. When I had joined the Avengers, I had expected we would have at least a few months of more training before we actually went to war. I gaped at the others, trying to wrap my head around all of this. It was too soon, far too soon.

"We all know the battle plan, correct?" Fury said, and without waiting for a response, continued, "This is the time to act. We have no time to spare."

"Right," Steve spoke up, taking charge. "Let's go."

He stood up, and the rest of us followed his lead. Fury studied us for a moment, taking in our appearances. I felt his eye linger distastefully on where Mercury was still curled up in my arms. The cat seemed satisfied with the whole situation. I vaguely stroked his back, staring off into space.

Fury brought me back to reality. He cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair.

"Gentlemen... You're up."  
><strong><br>0-0-0-0  
><strong>  
>The Skrulls made no noise as they crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, heading into Manhattan. Their foot-falls were silent. The only noise was the distant sound of rushing water emitting from the polluted river below.<p>

The bridge itself was vacant. In place of the usual stream of vehicles, there was only the army and its leader.

Loki marched swiftly in front of the ranks, confident, a determined expression obvious on his face. The afternoon light was darkening rapidly. Soon it would give way to nightfall- the perfect time for a battle such as this.

Perhaps it would have been wiser to go about this invasion more cautiously, sneaking in rather than walking boldly through. Loki had to remind himself several times that this was the plan: remain visible and conquer. Nevertheless, he was always on guard.

His eyes scanned the short distance left until they reached the city's boundaries. Only twenty yards until the war began. Twenty yards until he came face to face with his brother and his ex-best friend. No, he couldn't focus on that now. Thor and Ande were unimportant. He had to concentrate on the task at hand. Still, though, he promised twenty yards were depleting at a faster rate than he would have liked as they marched ever onwards.

The Red Skull was in the back of the army, keeping the Skrulls in line. Dr. Doom was stationed comfortably at their base, in control of everything.

Unbeknownst to the Skrulls, Doom had fitted them each with a small microchip. It enabled him to track the whereabouts of each shape shifter, and, if need be, destroy them all with a flick of several small switches. A handy tool, certainly, but a risky one. Loki wasn't sure how fully he trusted the mechanism.

Ten yards left. Loki raised his left hand and snapped his fingers, giving the signal that the soldiers should raise and ready their weapons. A resounding click from behind told him that the crossbows were now loaded and the guns were cocked.

Five yards. Loki took in a deep breath, palms tingling with magic just itching to be used. In his right hand, he held his newly crafted spear. He had modeled it after Odin's Gungnir, but he also had it fitted with even more destructive tendencies. It was a useful weapon, designed specifically with his own sorcery in mind.

Three yards. A dangerous smirk grew on his face. In a few short steps, he closed the gap separating him from pure destruction. The sun in the sky blazed down on them. A trickle of sweat beaded down his pale face. This was it, he told himself.

This was the end of Midgard. It was the very moment that he had been waiting many months for.

They entered the city. From far away, he heard the sharp sound of a bow being fired. Behind him, the first Skrull dropped dead at Loki's feet; the first of many.

The war had begun.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note:**_** Was it good? Sorry about the wait for this chapter. I've been working on improving my writing a lot this week.**

**Please leave a review telling me what you think! Thanks for reading!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	15. Chapter 14

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0  
><strong>  
>A shower of sparks rained down on me as I swerved to avoid a carefully aimed bullet. It barely missed me. I could feel it as it rushed past. On instinct, I swung my blade up and sliced the head off of my opponent, a slightly smaller Skrull.<p>

Across the road, Thor was twirling his hammer around, stirring up a windstorm. Any approaching enemies were blown backwards off of their feet. Occasionally, they were even knocked unconscious, giving the god of thunder an advantage over them.

Another Skrull charged at me, holding a sharp dagger aloft. I deflected it with my shield, smashing the alien's face in with the hilt of my sword. It stumbled backwards, stunned. I swiftly knocked the knife out of its hands and ran my sword through its heart. It fell back to the ground with a thud.

I took a deep breath and turned, searching for any other Skrulls. There weren't any in the vicinity, so I hopped in the air and fluttered down a side street, looking for more.

Manhattan was a war zone. Buildings had caught fire and were steadily crumbling to ashes. Smoke and dust filled the air, limiting visibility. Lampposts were toppled, crisscrossing through the roads. The bodies of our enemy lay scattered. It was a sickening sight.

I neatly dodged a fire hydrant that had been broken open and was now spraying dirty water fifteen feet into the air. I couldn't afford my shoes getting wet again. From a ways away, I heard the sound of Tony's arc reactor firing. I followed the noise, cutting through a small alley.

It opened up into a charred and broken Times Square. The streets that exited the messy place were blocked off by various objects, making escape on foot impossible. This must have been Tony's plan- isolate the Skrulls into one area and kill them all quickly. It was a good idea, I thought.

Tony and Steve were fighting side by side. Every now and then, Steve would throw his shield, letting it slice through one enemy after another, before returning to his hand. Even from this distance, I could see how much the patriotic paint had been chipped and seared by stray bullets.

Tony was hovering in the air, blasting away any aliens that came in range of his weapons. They disintegrated from the sheer force of the vibranium reactor. Together, the Iron Man and Captain America made a very effective team.

It wasn't enough, however. The Skrulls were steadily closing in, outnumbering the pair of heroes. I watched as one of the Skrulls got a hit on Steve's arm and he collapsed to the ground in pain.

I ran to join them, leaping over any remains of the Skrulls. A fire had erupted close by, sending superheated waves of energy at me, burning into my skin. I cringed in pain, but continued to sprint.

I skidded to a stop in front of the two, panting slightly.

"Steve, go fix yourself. I'll take over," I commanded, pointing to anyone of the various empty buildings surrounding us.

"No," he winced, rising to his feet. "I'm good. It's all better now." He rolled his shoulders around and contorted his features into a grimace.

"Yeah, that's believable," Tony snorted as a dart deflected off of him. He quickly blasted the offending Skrull into nothingness.

"Really, I'm fine," Steve insisted and proved it by flinging his shield away from him. It cleanly severed several heads off of the aliens' bodies, before smoothly returning to him. He caught it swiftly. "My regenerative system works better than you might think."

I nodded absently and whirled around to face the swarming masses. With one neat stroke, I defeated three Skrulls in a row, holding up my shield as a stream of darts headed my way. They bounced off of it and fell to the ground before spontaneously combusting.

Tony's blaster fired off again, this time destroying six opponents. Their ashes littered the ground. Beside me, Steve had pulled his shot gun out and was busy using it to take down the shape-shifters. It was strange, I realized, that I hadn't seen a Skrull in any other form than what they had arrived in.

We continued fighting our adversaries, and they continued appearing at an insanely fast rate. I hadn't noticed just how many had been in the army when they first began battling. Sweat poured down my face, seeping into my mask and making it a sticky mess.

A huge, booming roar interrupted our battle, startling us all into silence. Even the Skrulls lowered their weapons to see what was occurring.

Something large, green, and extremely angry came charging down the street, entering Times Square. Where he stepped, the asphalt quaked and cracked, splitting apart and leaving craters. His fists were clenched and he was breathing heavily.

"Oh thank God. He's here," Tony muttered. Steve opened his mouth to respond, but more heavy footsteps were thundering our way. I spun around, trying to find the source of the new visitor. What I found nearly made me collapse.

It was an enormous beast, larger than I had ever seen. It must have been one of the Skrulls, just in a much larger, scarier form. It's eyes burned red and it was completely covered in thick, black, sharp-looking scales. I couldn't help but compare it to the old Godzilla movies I had watched as a kid.

It opened its mouth and let out a piercing wail, revealing the pointy fangs lining its gums. It reared up on its two hind legs and let out the noise again, this time louder and holding it for a longer time.

Without warning, Hulk charged at it from across the square. Tony grabbed me from behind and whisked me out of his path as he tore past. I watched happily as the rest of the smaller Skrulls were trampled beneath his feet.

Hulk tackled the Godzilla-look-alike, sending them both down to the ground. Hulk roared, taking a swing, but Godzilla-guy was too fast. It rolled out of the way, scrambling onto its feet and dashing away into the street behind.

Hulk roared again and chased after it, shaking the ground as he ran. We watched him until they both disappeared into the distance and until their giant footsteps faded away.

"What the..." Tony murmured incredulously. "What was that thing?"

"I don't know. But whatever it was, it didn't exactly look good," Steve relied, panting.

"Do you think we should go help Bruce?" I asked, rocking back and forth on my heels.

"Ande, Bruce is a big boy. He can help himself. Besides, he's the only one of us who could actually take on a creature of that size," Tony said, shaking his head.

"On the bright side, I think we're done here." Steve gestured around at the dead and dying Skrulls that had been smashed under Bruce's feet.

"Let's go find the others," Tony responded, clapping us on the shoulders.

**0-0-0-0**

Loki ducked and swerved to avoid Thor's hammer as it came flying towards him. He let out a short maniacal laugh, and he released a stream of energy from his staff, knocking Thor off his feet.

"Why do you do this, brother?" Thor yelled, rising to his feet. Mjolnir returned to his outstretched palm.

"Don't call me that," Loki spat back, raising his spear again.

Thor sighed and flung his hammer at the younger man again. This time, it hit Loki square on the shoulder. The god of mischief recoiled, hissing in pain.

"Loki, enough!" his older brother shouted, exasperated. "Give up the fight!"

"Never." Loki glared, taking a step back.

"I don't understand," Thor said softy. "I don't understand what drove you to this."

Loki laughed again. "You did, you arrogant fool." Venom seeped through his tone. "Perhaps, if you had paid me even the slightest bit of attention whilst we were children, we would not be in this situation."

Thor furrowed his eyebrows. "But... Brother-"

"Don't speak to me," Loki seethed. "I am not your brother."

Thor visibly flinched as Loki's stinging words hit him. He blinked back a droplet of water and stepped forward, navigating over the cracked concrete, extending a hand. Behind them, a building blazed brightly, the fire spreading rapidly upon it, warming the chilly night air.

"Please, Loki. Come back to Asgard. Father and Mother and I all love you," the god of thunder pleaded, eyes earnest.

"I have no Father," Loki turned away. "Get away from me, idiot. We are supposed to be fighting, not reconciling." Loki glanced back and saw hurt in the bright blue eyes of his brother.

"If it's a fight you want," Thor narrowed his eyes and raised his hammer in defense. "Then a fight you get."

"That's more like it," Loki smirked, raising his palms. Small green fires danced across them, casting dark shadows over his sharp features.

**0-0-0-0**

"Wait," Tony said, stopping in his tracks. "Has anyone seen Thor since the fight began?"

Steve halted as well, turning to face us. He shook his head. "No, I don't think I have."

"I saw him," I offered. "Before I came to find you. We were fighting in about the same area, up by Central Park."

"What about Clint and Natasha?" Steve asked.

"Last I saw them, they were heading up to Fifth Avenue," Tony said, waving a hand in their general location. "Let's split up. Ande, lead Steve to where Thor was. I'll find the others. Meet me back here in an hour." They were currently standing on a relatively intact street corner.

"Alright," I responded, nodding my head. "See you then."

We parted ways, Tony heading opposite the setting sun, Steve and myself retracing the path up Seventh Avenue. Noises of the raging battle sounded in the distance, as Loki's forces took control of the city.

"I have a weird feeling about this," Steve muttered, glancing around nervously. "It's too quiet. In World War II, the battle was much louder."

"There were more people fighting that war. Here, it's just our little team against an entire race." I sighed, wiping a speck of alien blood off my sword blade. The metal gleamed in the low-set sun.

"We're going to win. I know it." Steve said confidently and fell silent. I considered him for a moment before turning my gaze to what lay ahead. As we approached Central Park, the battle sounds grew louder, and the fires drew nearer. I could smell the smoke. It swirled in my lungs, burning my throat.

We broke into a run. My sandals slapped against the asphalt. One block left. Steve and I picked up the pace, running even faster.

I skidded to a stop at the crosswalk. Steve joined me, panting slightly. Across the street, we could see Thor fiercely battling a figure, but through the haze, we couldn't tell who it was.

"Thor!" Steve shouted. The god of thunder almost dropped his hammer in surprise. The person he was fighting whirled around to see what Thor was staring at.

"Of course," I muttered under my breath. Just as I said that, Loki swung his staff down hard on Thor's head and disappeared with a whoosh. Thor collapsed to the ground.

Steve and I exchanged a look before darting across the street and into the grassy walkways of Central Park. The grass was dewy and slippery, and my shoes kept sliding around. I struggled to keep my balance as we made our way to our fallen comrade. 

Thor was sleeping peacefully on the singed grass, lightly snoring. Steve shook his head while I stifled a giggle.

"Only Thor would fall asleep like that," Steve chuckled. He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a silver wrapped package.

"Poptarts?" I asked, taking the pack from his hands and examining it. "You carry Poptarts in your pockets?"

"Well, when your teammate is someone like Thor, you learn to come prepared." Steve shrugged his shoulders, took back the Poptarts, and tore the little package open. He pulled out a slightly smashed purple-and-green-frosted cracker and held it under Thor's nose.

Thor's eyes snapped open and he greedily yanked the Poptart from Steve's hand, stuffing it into his mouth. He chewed noisily, blinking slowly.

"Whahappen?" he asked through a mouthful of preservatives and gelatin.

"Loki hit you, and then you fainted," Steve explained, stretching an arm out to help our friend up. Thor took it and stood, continuing to munch his Poptart. Crumbs spilt down into his beard. He wiped them off with the back of his hand, swallowing the remainder of the food.

"What do we do now?" he asked, but before any of us had time to respond, an enormous explosion erupted in the distance. I flinched as the loud noise hit my ears. Judging from the approximate location of where smoke was spilling into the early evening air, the explosion had occurred somewhere near Fifth Avenue- the same location Tony and Clint and Natasha were. My heart clenched up with worry.

"We go find out what just happened," Steve suggested.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note: **_**Yeah, yeah. I know I said I'd update on Saturday, but things got a little hectic, leaving me with no time to even think about updating. Homecoming, the pre-dinner, freaking out about my hair, desperately trying to remove a stain from my dress, homework, etc.- you can probably see how that would be time consuming and frustrating. **

**Anyways, I hope you stick around for the next chapter and the chapter after that. Next chapter, things get a little… um, interesting… so I hope I don't lose any readers because of it. Just keep reading, and you won't be disappointed. I swear.**

**Huge shout-out to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Nine reviews. I've never gotten so many for a single chapter before. You guys are amazing and I love you to pieces.**

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	16. Chapter 15

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Is it over?" Loki heard the patriotic one call out. The other team members were surveying the area, scanning for even the slightest sign of movement. Loki smirked in satisfaction at the thought of how they could not see him, even though he was standing but a mere five yards away.

They had fought valiantly against the first wave, but there was much more to come. The war had only begun and the Avengers were already looking worse for wear. Their costumes were singed and tattered, and scratches adorned their dirty faces. Burns stretched up their arms and legs. Cuts and bruises were clearly visible, even from this distance.

He watched as Ande began pacing back and forth anxiously. The other woman, the flexible one, leaned against a bent telephone pole on the side of the street, arms folded across her chest. Archer boy had his bow pulled out and strung, arrow poised to fire at a moments notice. The green one entitled "The Hulk" had gone missing as he chased one of the larger Skrulls away from the battle. He hadn't been seen since.

Thor still had his hammer drawn, but it was relaxed by his side. His crimson cape had been torn to pieces. What little that was left of it was barely clinging to his shoulders. His long, blonde hair was matted and filthy. Patriotic man had slung his star spangled shield across his shoulders. The one of iron had his face mask removed and was in a tense conversation on his cellular phone.

The street surrounding them was completely blown apart. The cars that had not been claimed during the evacuation lay scattered here and there along the sidewalk, like rocks after a landslide. There were no bodies from the first army of Skrulls- they had disintegrated with the explosion. Fires dotted one of the buildings further down the street, and the smoke filled the air and stung Loki's eyes.

Mailboxes lay overturned, as did trash cans and the few trees planted along the sidewalk. The cement was cracked and bulging in many places. Yes, the fight had been destructive. Loki almost felt regret taking in the pitiful scene.

Then he caught something in the corner of his eye- a faint glimmer, a magic shield perched atop one of the shorter buildings. Loki stared at it, willing his own sorcery to remove the shield blocking the object from view.

It was nothing but a surviving Skrull, one who hadn't been caught in the blast. He had a crossbow strung and loaded, aimed directly down from where he sat. Loki traced the path the dart would make if the weapon was to be released. His Asgardian eyesight enhanced everything ten-fold, and it all became clear.

The dart was to hit Thor, right through a chink in his armor. It would kill him instantly.

Loki had no time to consider his options as the Skrull prepared to release the fatal attack. Only one thought dominated his mind- _Save his brother._

He ran.

He ran as fast as he possibly could. It tore at the muscles in his legs as he sped towards his brother. The aura causing him to remain invisible to the Avengers flickered and died, exposing him to the eyes of the others.

"THOR!" Loki shouted at the top of his lungs. "Look out!"

The crossbow made a faint plucking noise as it fired, dart racing through the air to hit its mark.

Thor turned just in time to be hit by Loki. Taken off guard, Thor stumbled back, landing on the rough and broken asphalt. Coughing, Thor rose to his feet and glanced around, eyes searching fervently for his brother.

His eyes fell on the pierced and bleeding form of the god of mischief.

From several feet away, he heard Clint fire his own bow, and the Skrull dropped dead atop the building. Thor could care less.

In an instant, the thunder god dropped to his knees and scooped up his little brother in his arms. Loki was gasping for air. A silver dart lay deep in his chest, straight through the heart.

**0-0-0-0**

I stared in shock as the scene unfolded before my very eyes. Without thinking, I dashed forward and skidded to a stop in front of where Thor knelt, Loki cradled in his huge arms. I almost collapsed as I took in his condition.

Quickly, I knelt in front of them too, digging around in my pocket for an extra square of ambrosia. I pulled out a crushed one and ripped the plastic off of it.

"Eat this. It'll save you," I said, rushing through my words and trying to shove it past his lips. Thor stared at Loki wide eyed as the younger man shook his head.

"No... Poison on dart," he gasped, weak heart thudding audibly.

"No no no, you'll be fine." My eyes were stinging at this point.

Loki let a sharp intake of oxygen fill his lungs. I could only stare in horror as he turned his attention to his brother.

"Thor..." he muttered wearily.

"Loki, _no_. You are not allowed to die. We've been over this before," Thor said gruffly, shaking his head, voice quavering.

"It's too late," Loki shuddered as the poison seeped deeper into his bloodstream.

"Stop it brother. You _will _live!" Thor demanded. Loki blinked slowly.

"Brother..." he said as if the word tasted foreign on his tongue."I cannot believe that after all this time you still call me that." Loki coughed and red droplets splattered out. He slightly shifted his head to look at me, eyes glinting dully.

His breaths were laborious now, more forced. "Ande..." he choked out.

Tears were streaming down my face as I held back a sob. "No..." I whispered.

He coughed again as his chest rose and fell with difficulty.

"_No_," I said again, violently shaking my head. His breathing stopped all together.

I never thought I would live to see the day when the life faded completely out of my best friend's eyes. And yet, here it was, staring at me in the face; taunting me, gloating.

My hands curled around his cold arm, nails digging into his lifeless flesh. It was difficult to breathe and it felt like my world had been abruptly flipped upside down.

"No, Loki. Wake up!" I pleaded, close to my breaking point. I shook his arm roughly. "Dammit Loki, wake up!"

"Ande." Steve placed his hand on my shoulder, but I shoved him away.

"Wake up!" I screamed, voice cracking. "Stop it!"

Thor was sitting with a blank expression, still clutching the body to his chest. A lone tear ran down his face and into his beard.

"Ande, enough. He's gone," Clint said, crouching down.

"NO! He's not gone!" My voice came out as a strangled shout. I clenched my fists and turned to look at Clint, glaring. Thor looked up finally.

"Put her somewhere where she can't hurt herself. I'll take my brother," he growled, voice cracked. His expression was now a mixture of heart-break and rage. He stood, lifting Loki's body up with him.

I flew to my feet too, lunging forward, reaching out for the body again. Both Clint and Steve grabbed me by my arms and started to pull me away. I struggled against their grips, panting.

"Let me go!" I screeched. "You can't do this!"

"Come on sweetheart. You'll be okay." I felt a metal hand on my arm and glanced over to see Tony giving me a sorrowful look. He alone knew how I felt about Loki. I shrugged his hand off.

"He isn't gone," I wailed. It shocked me to hear the utter despair seeping its way out of my thickened voice. Hot tears spilt down my cheeks. I made no effort to stop them. Clint sighed from beside me.

Thor turned from us and began heading for the closest building, an abandoned public school. Steve and Clint pulled me along after Thor in a sick sort of funeral procession. My feet scraped against the pavement. I had no will to move on my own, so I let them drag me. I felt sick.

We entered the musty smelling building, and they turned me down one of the hallways, following Thor. I barely had time to see the classroom he disappeared into before I was taken through an old doorway.

"This is for your own good," Steve said sadly. "We'll be back to get you later." He locked the door behind me with a loud click.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to kick something. I wanted to attack someone. I fell to the ground and yanked on my now messy bun, ripping it. My fingers pulled some stray strands out, but I let them flutter to the floor. I couldn't breathe. I needed air. I needed something, anything. I needed closure. I needed my best friend.

I couldn't stand it anymore. I stood and stumbled to the door, drunk on my own derangement. I slammed one fist into the wood. It didn't budge. I punched it again for all I was worth. Still nothing.

That sent me into a frenzy. I flew at the door, hitting and kicking it until my feet and hands were bruised and sore. Even then, I didn't quit. I had to get out of here before I went crazy. My mind lurched and my vision tilted. Any moment now, I would vomit up anything that I had left in my stomach. My head was pounding uncomfortably.

"Let me out!" I screamed, emphasizing it with a kick. The impact jolted all the way up to my knees and it was extremely painful. The door frame shuddered slightly, but other than that, the door remained intact. I couldn't take this. I couldn't take it.

I dropped down and practically crawled to the corner of the empty classroom, nails catching and ripping on the minuscule cracks in the tiles. I curled up, hugging my knees to my chest and rocking back and forth on my heels. I was gnawing whatever was left of my broken nails off frantically, the fingers on my other hand weaving through my tangled hair. More and more strands came sliding out of my fingers.

When the biting and the pulling grew old, I started scratching my legs with my short nails, leaving skinny scratches running up and down my calves. Dots of blood began to form, and it smeared into a pleasant crimson color as I swirled the pads of my fingers through the tiny drops.

I don't know how long I sat there like a deranged troll. It could have been minutes or it could have been hours. I watched in despair as the early morning sky began to shift into daybreak. What little sky I could see out the windows the room provided had turned a milky gray color, indicating that the sun would soon rise. But nothing could control my sobbing as I let one out after the other.

Gone, gone, gone, was the mantra I repeated in my head. It was as if I thought that word would somehow console me, though it only made things worse. I still had no idea as to how long I'd been trapped.

All I knew was that it had been a while before I realized I wasn't completely alone in this chilly room.

A light rustle startled me, causing me to jump. I leapt into the air, reaching for my necklace. My hand felt nothing; no delicate chain around my neck, no tiny owl charm. Then I remembered I had dropped both my sword and shield when Loki had been hit. They were still out there, lying where ever I had flung them.

A shudder raked through my body, but I steeled my nerves, treading on light feet to where the noise had emitted from. A single desk had been placed in the corner of the classroom. A fine layer of dust covered the worn, pencil marked surface. The connected chair was chipped and scuffed, showing that it had been in use for many years. I crouched down and peered under the squat table.

A pair of brilliant green-blue eyes met my gaze. Its whiskers twitched slightly and it shifted its paws back and forth. A skinny black tail swished nervously as the animal stared back at me.

"Mercury?" My voice was rough, hoarse. It scratched against my throat as the word slipped out. I cringed at the sound of it.

The cat stood up from where it had been sitting and approached me from under the desk. I tentatively stretched my fingers out, wanting any sort of comfort at a time like this. I didn't even stop to consider how Mercury had somehow made it into this locked classroom when I had most assuredly left him back up at the helicarrier. Actually, I didn't care. I just wanted to hold something soft.

I scooped the little cat up in my arms and held it tightly to my neck. I buried my face in his soft fur, letting more tears drip out of my eyes. Mercury began to purr. It was a gentle sound, but it warmed my heart and just made me miss Loki even more. His fur began to grow damp after a moment of being pressed to my swollen eyes.

Without warning, the cat flew out of my arms and landed on its feet on the tiled floor. I flinched when his claws squeaked against the tiles. I started to reach back out to gather him back up, but then he started hacking, as if he were choking on something. I wasn't sure what to do, so I awkwardly patted his arched back.

Finally, he quit retching and spat something out of his mouth. Like I had thought, it was a hairball. A putrid odor hit my nose as the smell reached me.

"Gross." I wrinkled my nose. Mercury used his little paw to push the wet, goopy glob over to my sandaled feet. He stared up at me expectantly, pink nose wiggling. Weird cat, I thought, shaking my head.

A little gleam from the sun streaming through the (probably bulletproof) windows caught my attention. Something was sticking out of the partially digested hair, but only slightly. You would have to look very closely even to see it at all.

I reached two fingers into the hairball, carefully extracting the object. I wiped the spit off of it and held it up for examination.

A tiny hair pin. I rolled my eyes and let it fall through my fingers. It rattled on the ground.

Mercury hissed, showing his pointed teeth. His eyes traveled from where they looked at me, down to the hair pin, over at the door, and back at me. It took a moment, but slowly, realization dawned on me.

"Mercury, you're a genius," I whispered. The cat closed his eyes in contentment, as if he were accepting the praise. I snatched the pin back up and darted to the locked door.

Only one thought ran through my mind: maybe all those years of hanging around Hermes's mischievous, thieving children had finally paid off after all.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note**_**: Well… Yep. There you go. I told you that you wouldn't like it. **

**Just… Don't leave yet, okay? There's more to come, I promise.**

**I posted this a few days early after all, because I found out that there would be no way to update until at least Wednesday, and I didn't want to keep you waiting that long. I need to get on a better updating schedule.**

**Thanks for reading. Please review, if you don't all hate me. **

***Cowers behind computer screen***

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	17. Chapter 16

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At first, there was nothing. A strange, peaceful numbness filled his mind, seeping into the very tips of his long finger. He was a slate that had been entirely wiped clear of all markings. It was a pleasant feeling, actually. He couldn't think- he didn't even want to think, so he settled back and let his body slip into the dark void.

Then came the pain. It rushed over him in waves, setting fire to every pore in his body. He felt like he was burning to ashes. His whole body was aflame, feeling warmer than the two suns that shone upon Asgard. Soon, there would be nothing left of him, save for a small pile of dust. His very brain felt like it would explode at any moment.

All he wanted was for this agony to cease, but it seemed as if the Norns wanted to torture him even further. The pain and heat grew worse, until he wanted to scream from the sheer agony. But he found that he could no longer open his mouth. It felt like the time when those vicious elves had sewn his lips together- they just would not open to enable him the privilege of screaming.

As soon as he reached his breaking point, everything halted. Another rush of tranquility engulfed him, and he gradually became aware of his sense once more. Feeling rushed into his limbs in a sharp jolt, coursing through his nerve endings as if he had received an electric shock. He was leaning- no, reclining- on a flat, cold surface. A warm breeze blew the hair off of his pale forehead. It was blessed relief.

He tried to place where he now was. He was afraid to open his eyes, scared as to what he might find, so he allowed his other senses free reign.

Oddly, it smelt of Asgard, of home. The scent drifted into his nose, filling it with the smells of honey and sage. Oh, how he had missed that delectable scent.

This must be heaven, he thought to himself. He wanted to laugh. He knew he didn't deserve any sort of heaven. So what was he doing here?

"Open your eyes," a gentle voice commanded him. Loki shoved away his concerns and obliged, snapping his eyelids open. The bright lighting flooded his vision, burning into his corneas. For a moment, he couldn't see. Then his sight cleared.

Above him was a splendid golden ceiling, high vaulted and gleaming in the early afternoon light. Shining chandeliers hung from the surface, sparkling as they gently swayed. Tiny, ever-burning candles filled the holders in the chandeliers, reflecting off the elegantly cut diamonds.

It was the ceiling of Odin's throne room. He had seen the same place far too many times to even doubt it. Loki concluded he must be dreaming. His head ached.

"Nay, you are not dreaming, son," the voice spoke out again, ringing through the hall. "This is all very much real."

Loki blinked and slowly sat up from the icy marble he had been laying on. The first thing he noticed as he rose was the black banners hanging along the back wall behind the throne. He furrowed his brows. Who had died? The flags in question were only put out when a death had occurred in the royal family. He hadn't seen them since the tragic accident with his brother, Balder- an incident he most decidedly did not want to go into.

The second thing Loki noticed was the man perched calmly on the throne itself. The man's gold-trimmed, black robes were covered in silver armor plates. It was a ceremonial, funeral outfit, one that was only worn when something tragic had occurred. It was a rare thing to witness one wearing such a thing in the usually peaceful realm of Asgard.

"I feared for a moment that I had lost you, boy," the man said, clearing his throat. His lips were pressed together in a firm line. "And then you woke. It seems as if the banners were unnecessary after all." The man turned to look at the black flags behind him. With a wave of his hand, they disappeared into nothingness.

"Odin?" Loki asked in confusion, trying desperately to make sense of this situation.

"Indeed, I am Odin. And you are Loki, in case you have forgotten that as well." The All-Father turned back around, stood, and descended the steps that led to the high backed, velvet cushioned chair. His boots clicked softly on the marble as he made his way over to where Loki sat on the floor.

"Let us walk," he said, offering a hand to help Loki up. Loki stared at it for a moment before refusing it, and he rose to his feet without the assistance.

Odin sighed regretfully. "You always were one to do things alone. I should have remembered."

"What am I doing here? I was under the impression that I was banned from Asgard eternally." Loki narrowed his eyes and stepped back from the king.

"At the time, yes. You were. However, in light of recent events, I have lifted that banishment." Odin's one good eye glinted in a prideful sense. Loki couldn't help but stare on in bafflement, for he had only seen that stare but a handful of times during his life as a prince.

"Come," the king of Asgard instructed, waving his hand and walking past his youngest son, heading towards the door to the balcony.

Loki hesitated, weighing his odds. If he went with, his chance of escape dwindled to practically zero. On the other hand, if he transported himself away from Asgard now, he could possibly get away undetected.

But he was curious as to what his father had to say to him, and so he went after Odin, tracing the path to where Odin now stood against the balcony railing. The view from this particular area was stunning: it gave a clear image of the purple sea surrounding the castle and where the newly rebuilt Bifrost shimmered from the light of the double suns. It was a beautiful sight. It made Loki's chest pang. He hadn't realized just how much he had come to miss his former home.

"You died," Odin began. "You died for your brother."

Loki raised his eyebrows and nodded once.

"You died a warrior's death. Technically, you should be feasting in Valhalla for it now. Instead, I instructed the Valkyries to bring your soul to me." Odin stared out into the distance, carefully examining the foamy waves as they toppled over the edge of Asgard.

"Why?" Loki blurted. None of this was clear to him. His toes curled in his boots, a sign of his shock.

"You are my son. Regardless of what you may consider me now, you have always been my child." The All-Father's voice seemed to echo against the cliffs, reverberating and coming back to Loki's ears.

He let out a short, mirthless laugh. "I tried to destroy all the nine realms," Loki spat. "I am no son of the king of Asgard. I am a traitor. I should be exiled at the very least."

"I am aware of Asgardian laws. They are not of any importance in this conversation," Odin said, shaking his head and sucking in a deep breath. He let it out slowly before talking again.

"You have shown the greatest, most sincere form of love for your brother. The act of dying for someone replenishes and strengthens your soul in more ways than you can possibly fathom. You have been cleared of all the wrongs you have ever caused for Thor."

"That's a wonderful thought, All-Father, but I am dead. What good does having a clean soul do me now, yes?" Loki smirked, leaning against the railing.

"In short, in enables you to be sent back to the mortal world and start anew," Odin said cautiously, choosing his words. Loki's smirked slipped off his angular face. He had not been expecting that answer.

There was a moment of stunned silence from the god of mischief. "Go back?" Loki gaped. "I cannot possibly go back. I have caused far too many problems. If I were to return to Midgard, I'd be executed on sight."

"Think again, boy." Odin wagged his finger. "As I said, you died for your brother. After that show of dedication, I highly doubt he would let them touch you, let alone kill you. Thor has always had a forgiving heart, especially when it comes to his own kin."

"Thor hates me," Loki spat, turning his head slightly as to avoid looking at his father. High in the air, a bird circled their heads. Loki shifted his gaze to the bird- probably one of Odin's ravens- as a distraction from the pressurized stare directed at the back of his ebony haired head.

"Even when you threatened to destroy him and his friends, Thor has never hated you. You are his younger brother. He has a soft spot for you, though he may not always show it. Thor loves you more than anything."

"I find that very difficult to believe," Loki rolled his eyes in dismissal. "We have _always_ been rivals, always."

"You are deluded by your own hatred. I would not have brought you here if I truly believed there was no hope for you." Odin gently placed a warm hand on Loki's shoulder. Loki resisted the urge to shake it off. "Go, my son. You can do great things to turn the tide of the war. I have faith in you. All you need now is to have faith in yourself."

Loki stared into Odin's eye, searching for any trace of possible deceit. There wasn't any, unless his father had become particularly good at hiding his emotions since Loki had left.

"Yes... Father," he sighed reluctantly.

"Thank you Loki. I shall trust your word. I will transport you back to Earth now." The great king of Asgard touched both his hands to either side of his youngest son's face. A light blue glow surrounded Loki. "One last thing: when you are finished on Midgard, your mother requested you return and speak with her. She sends her regards and wishes she could be here."

Loki nodded and closed his eyes, letting himself return to Midgard and face his fate.

**0-0-0-0  
><strong>  
>The door latch clicked and swung open, revealing a dark hallway streaked with highlights of pink from the rising sun. I felt the hairpin slip out of my trembling fingers. I didn't hear if it made any noise or not. The only thing I could hear was the steady pounding in my ear drums.<p>

I stepped out the door, glancing down the hallways to make sure no one was around. Then I took off, speed walking down to the room I had previously seen Thor enter. Six doors down, I recalled. Two… Four… Five…

The sixth door was ajar, but only slightly so. I was glad. Picking the lock on my own door had been difficult enough, and I didn't want to repeat that process again. I pushed it open with a creak, letting the dim light from the hallway spill in. The shades had been drawn over the windows in this particular classroom.

The body lay on several desks that had been scooted together, forming a platform of sorts. My vision clouded over as I shifted my weight from foot to foot, debating on whether I should go or not.

I couldn't resist the temptation. I had to see it. I had to.

I walked on shaky feet to the wall the desks were pressed up against. My feet stirred up clouds of dust as I moved. It was obvious that this classroom had gone unused for quite a while, judging by the stuffy air and the spider webs stretching along the ceilings.

His face was pale, more so than usual. His eyes were closed. He looked as if he could be sleeping, but the lack of breathing gave it all away.

My whole body started quavering, and I crashed to the floor, holding my head in my hands. The tears that I had been holding back since I left my own room rushed out as the horrible truth enveloped me.

Loki was dead.

My heart felt like it was on fire. It ached inside my chest. I wanted to die. In that moment, I wanted nothing more. I couldn't even speak. My throat was too clogged up.

Mercury jumped up and settled himself on Loki's stiff legs. I hadn't known he had followed me. I paid him no attention.

I couldn't handle this anymore. I honestly couldn't. My mind had snapped, revealing the side of me that I had worked so hard to cover up. I started laughing.

It wasn't a laugh expressing my amusement at something funny, no. It was the type of laugh that, were you to do it in front of someone, they would immediately check you into a mental institute.

My insane laughter gradually turned into painful sobbing. Each sob raked my chest, sending wave after wave of despair into my mind, filling my senses with hopelessness.

Still perched atop the body, Mercury had curled up into a tight little ball, purring without a care in the world. He moved to balance his weight, and something that had been concealed inside Loki's boot slipped out, falling onto the table.

It was enough to startle me out of my fit. I snatched it up off the desk. It was a small, silver dagger with emeralds lining the hilt. On the delicate blade, "Loki" had been engraved in runes. I turned it over in my palm, thoroughly examining every inch of the sleek metal.

It was perfect.

My hands trembled as I first held the point up to my chest, but I then realized that I could never muster up the courage to drive it through the front. I rose to my feet and turned around, putting my back to Loki and the cat.

I raised the tip of the knife to my back, directly behind my heart. This would have to be quick and swift, I told myself. I had to get it over with before I came to my senses.

Mercury hissed, but I ignored him. The world felt like it was at a slant. I was fighting to keep my balance as I pushed the blade deeper into my skin.

I had only just begun to draw blood when I felt a thin, cold hand encircle my wrist. My heart jolted as minty breath fanned out over my neck.

"Just what, my dear, do you think you're doing?"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note: **_**Oh, come on, guys. Did you really think that I would kill off Loki permanently? You don't know me if you think I'd actually get rid of him forever. I'm not **_**that**_** mean!**

**Anyways, thanks for reading, and please review! **

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	18. Chapter 17

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She froze, stiller than a statue. Her heart was beating loud enough that it reached his ears. The only thing he could think was how glad he was that the delicate organ was still beating at all. He knew that, had he arrived but a mere moment later, it would have been too late.

Her grip on the knife loosened, and the deadly weapon plunged to the floor, clattering loudly against the tile. Loki could barely contain his own fury. With a twist of his arm, he spun her around so she now faced him. Her face was pale white, and her pupils were so dilated, he couldn't make out even the slightest trace of grey against the bloodshot white.

He could feel his palms shaking with rage as he lowered his gaze to meet her own. "What were you _thinking_?" he spat. "Never would I have believed that you, the _daughter_ of the goddess of _wisdom_, could _ever_ be so _stupid_."

Loki released her wrist, and it fell back to her side, flopping like a lifeless fish. He couldn't even stand to look at her. The scene he had just woken up to was the most disgusting thing he had witnessed in all his years. He began to pace, striding across the room, fists clenched at his sides.

"I cannot comprehend this," he seethed. "How _dare_ you try to kill yourself? How _dare _you be so _selfish_?"

Ande finally appeared to find her voice, and she choked out, "You were dead!" Her voice was thick. "What did you expect me to do?"

"Oh, I don't know. Perhaps live your life as you did before we ever met?" he suggested icily.

"Yeah, like that's going to happen," Ande said, a dry tone taking presence in her voice. "Don't pretend like you don't know how I feel about you."

Loki stopped short, whirling around to look at her. "That is not the point," he muttered, glaring. "The point is that you don't kill yourself just because I die. Ever!"

"You know, Loki, you're a real jerk sometimes." She folded her bruised arms across her chest.

"I could smite you down right now for speaking to me that way," Loki spat. "But I am here on a... Mission. It would not be a good idea to kill another mortal when the reason I am here is to 'save them'"

"Care to explain?" she said sarcastically. "Maybe I could help."

"Yes, because I really want help from a twenty-one year old insane girl who tries to kill herself whenever her best friend hurts himself." Loki smirked and raised his eyebrows.

Ande's face flushed pink, and she seemed to stammer over her words before she spoke. "I thought we weren't best friends."

Loki realized his error then and attempted to correct himself. "We aren't. It was a slip of the tongue, I assure you."

There was a pause, and silence radiated between the two. The tension in the air was thick, suppressing Loki's thoughts. He finally broke away from her gaze and hung his head in his hands.

"It's too dangerous. You cannot help me." He sent her an unspoken message, daring her to attempt to challenge his decision.

She took the bait. "I'm going with you, whether you like it or not."

"Ande-" he growled.

"Loki," she cut him off. "Tell me what you are going to do. I'm going to help you with this."

He studied her for a minute, considering the madness still present in her eyes. Every bit of his brain told him to accept her offer and take her with, but his heart told him otherwise. He wasn't sure which to listen to, so instead, he stepped forward and crushed her in a massive hug.

She yelped at the sudden contact, and tried to pull away, but he refused to release her. After a moment of shocked stillness, she leaned into his chest and wrapped her arms around him in return.

"I missed you Loki," she murmured. Something wet hit his coat. It took him a second, but he recognized it as a tear; she was crying. A small smile graced his lips.

"And I have missed you," he whispered, running his fingers through her tangled hair. They stayed like that for a while, holding each other tightly. Loki was reluctant to let go, but he knew he had to be going. He had to get this over with.

He pulled back from the embrace, holding Ande at arms length. Her face was streaked with tears, trickling down her cheeks, leaving tracks through the layer of ash.

"There is something I need to tell you before I go," Loki began saying. "Ande, I-" A small meow broke in, disrupting his thoughts. He glanced down to his feet, where a small cat was now perched.

"Oh, it's you," Loki said, leaning down and scooping the cat up. "I was afraid you had been lost in the battle."

Ande stared at the two in confusion, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "You sent him to me," she whispered incredulously.

"Yes and no. That night that I escaped the helicarrier, I left you a small present: this cat. I expected that you would find him sooner or later, as he is magnetically attached to you. I did not know that he would have followed you here, however."

"I'm glad he did." Ande reached out to brush the tips of her fingers on the cat's forehead.

"I am not," Loki glowered. "Had he not have followed you, you would never have snuck out. You would never have come to this room. You would never have found that dagger."

Ande smiled smugly, eyes dancing amusedly. "He's a smart cat," she remarked.

"I shall never trust those sons of Hermes again," Loki muttered, glaring down at the cat curled contently in his arms.

"Son of... What?" Ande's eyes grew big, glancing between the cat and her ex-best friend. "You know Hermes?"

"Yes," Loki said. "Hermes and I have a long history of pulling pranks together. He is quite the troublemaker."

"Wow. This is just too weird." She shook her head to clear it. "Anyways, before Mercury interrupted you, you were about to say something."

"Was I?" Loki said off-handedly. "I don't quite remember." His smirk grew wider.

"You're insufferable," Ande remarked, huffing and rolling her eyes. "I guess we should go get started on whatever it was that you need to do, then."

"Have I not made myself clear? You are not coming with me." Loki set the cat down, and it streaked under the desk.

"Remember the last time you said that to me? And I ended up saving Thor's life with that ambrosia?"

"Ugh, don't remind me," he cringed at the memory of the little yellow car and Ande's nonexistent driving skills. "I guess you have a point, however."

"Yeah, I know," she smiled, striding to the door. "Let's go."

**0-0-0-0**

"Think we should tell the others?" I whispered as we crouched behind an overturned minivan.

Loki looked at me as if I was crazy. "Tell them? Absolutely not. If we told them, they would insist on coming with us. I already have to take you along, and I do not want any more followers." I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him.

"Good thing the war's over then," I muttered, picking up a stray piece of rubble and turning it in my fingers.

"Over? Not even," Loki chuckled darkly. "Nay, the second wave is fast approaching, this time led by Doom himself."

"Second wave? How many of them are there?" I gasped.

"Far too many," he murmured spitefully. "Indeed, the Avengers have quite a handful, though they do not realize it yet."

"We have to help them!" I cried, standing up from behind the minivan. Loki reached up and grasped my arm, yanking me back down.

"Foolish girl. This is the perfect distraction. As long as Doom is away from the control room, we have free access to everything that lies within that area. The Avengers will keep him busy long enough for us to safely get in and get out."

I considered the plan for a moment before nodding my head. "I like it."

"Come along, love. We're wasting precious time," he said with a masochistic grin. I eyed him warily as he tightened his grip on my forearm, and we both disappeared into blackness.  
><strong><br>0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note**_**: Hmm. Short chapter, I know, but I promise you that the next chapter will be much, much bigger. I wasn't sure what else to add here, so I cut it off early. I'm sorry.**

**I also apologize for the delay in updating. Vacations mess with updating more than anything else, especially when you're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no trace of internet connection.**

**To Anonymous Loki Fangirl: OH MY GOSH LET ME HUG YOU. Your review made my day completely. I couldn't stop smiling! Thank you so much!**

**Thanks for reading everyone! Please review!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	19. Chapter 18

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With a twitch of his fingers, the lock on the front door to Victor Von Doom's mansion turned with a click. Loki reached out and pushed the oak door open, revealing a glossy hallway, carpeted in deep red.

"You'd think his security system would be a little stricter," I mused. Loki smirked and strode into the spacious hall. I followed him cautiously, weighing each step as if my life depended on it.

"Where do we go?" I asked. Loki paused, and held up a finger, instructing me to keep silent. I snapped my mouth shut. He craned his neck, listening for some unknown sound. With a satisfied sigh, he resumed walking.

He led me to a bookshelf, stacked high with titles, such as: "1001 Ways to Be More Masochistic", and "Magneto's Guide to Conquering the Human Race". He traced his finger along the spines, before tapping "Finding Your Inner Evil" and pulling it out of its place. He casually tossed the thick novel aside and allowed the bookshelf to swing open, giving way to a metal staircase.

"Well, isn't that cliché..." I muttered. Loki ignored me and began descending the stairs to the inky black bottom. His leather boots tapped against the steel, while his lithe body cast shadows on the stark-white walls.

When he reached the landing, he flipped a switch, and the whole staircase lit up with industrial lighting. He turned on his heels and glanced where I still stood at the top.

"Are you coming, or not?" he sneered. I rolled my eyes and quickly joined him at the bottom. From down here, I could see another, skinnier hallway that opened into an enormous workshop, large enough to rival even Tony Stark's personal workroom.

It was like a huge control center. Metal desks lined four of the walls in this octagon shaped room, adorned with buttons and lights of all colors. TV screens showing various views from the security cameras flickered in the unlit air. The other four walls housed doors of many sizes. I could only guess as to what was contained inside the chambers they concealed.

I started taking a step forward, but Loki lunged out and grabbed me around the waist with his reflexes of a panther. I squeaked when he yanked me back inside the hallway.

"Holy Zeus, Loki." I glared at him as he released me. "What was that for?"

"Look carefully," he pointed out into the center of the room. I strained my eyes to adjust. There was nothing.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?" I snapped. He sighed, frustrated.

"Can you not see the fine strands of magic etched into the tile?" Loki gestured carefully to the floor. I shook my head. "Well, they are there. If you would have taken another step, you would have been disintegrated on the spot."

I suddenly felt like a moron. Of course there were traps put up to catch the idiots like me. My cheeks heated up.

"Wonderful. How are we supposed to get around them then?" I said angrily, trying to cover my obvious embarrassment.

"Easy," he said, and took a step forward. I held my breath as he navigated in a series of strange little hops and steps. At one point, he had to drop to knees and curl his body around some invisible strand of magic. Another time he had to leap headfirst through the air, landing smoothly on his feet.

After what seemed like an eternity, he reached the opposite wall and pressed a button. A small chink of steel rotated around, revealing a touch screen keypad. Loki thought for a moment before typing in "Death to the Super Secret Boy Band".

A small popping sound, like a wire defusing, crackled throughout the room.

"You can come over now," he said. I walked over on light, confident feet, trying to seem as if I knew what I was doing.

"Now what do we do?" I wondered aloud.

"We destroy the Skrulls," he said simply. I gaped at him, and he explained further. "You see, when they arrived, Doom fitted each of them with a small counterpart. If they were to cause any trouble, or if they suddenly grew out of hand, he would press a certain button, and they would explode instantaneously. Of course, none of them were aware of this. Even I wasn't informed that he did this."

"Then how-" I began, confused.

"Eavesdropping," he cut in, shrugging his shoulders. "Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea which button it is, or where he put this button at all."

"I guess we could just push every button in the room," I suggested meekly. He raised his eyebrows.

"I wouldn't dare risk it. Doom is a madman. Those switches and buttons could cause anything to happen."

"Well, that's just great," I spat, lifting my gaze to the vaulted ceiling. "So we're stuck here, with no idea what to do-" I stopped short. Loki gazed at me curiously, before following my eyes to the ceiling. He let in a sharp intake of breath as he realized what I was staring at.

"There's our answer," I whispered, the corners of my lips turning up.

In the very highest point of the vaulted ceiling sat a skinny black button, about the size of a dime. In small print next to it, were the words "In case of Skrull emergency, press here".

"Why am I not surprised?" Loki muttered, more to himself than to me. I ignored him.

"Here, I've got this," I said. Concentrating hard, I focused on my sandals, trying to get the wings to unfold. No luck. I angrily kicked the ground, trying to jolt them into working. Nothing.

"They're broken," I muttered. Loki rolled his eyes again.

"They are not broken. Outside magic will not work while in this room. Did I not tell you that?"

"No, you didn't mention it," I glared, folding my arms across my chest and staring at the ceiling.

"I'm not sure how he expects us to get up there if we cannot use magic," Loki mused.

"He _didn't_expect us to get up there. That's the point," I said, scanning the room. Something long, silver, and shiny caught my eye. "I don't think he accounted for non-magical ways, though."

Loki looked over. "Excuse me?"

In response, I only pointed. He still looked confused, so I continued, "It's a ladder. You use it to get to high places. Doesn't Asgard have those?"

"No, Asgard has more effective ways of solving a problem such as this," he sniffed. "Unfortunately, all of those involve magic."

"Then the ladder should be perfect," I smiled, crossing the room and dragging the tool out of the corner. I pulled it over to where Loki stood and unfolded it, instructing him to hold the leg so it didn't collapse. Hesitantly, I placed one foot on it. It supported my weight well enough, so I stepped up another step.

That was my mistake.

Sirens blared, red lights flashing. All around us, bars slammed down, trapping me in a cage of sorts. Except the bars weren't made of metal. They were writhing.

"Sp- Sp- Spiders!" I screamed, losing my balance and tumbling to the floor. One tiny arachnid descended from the ceiling in front of me, spinning on its delicate thread. I swatted it away and continued shrieking.

The disgusting black creatures swarmed me, crawling up my ankles and biting me with their miniature pincers. I lurched to me feet, stepping on as many as I could with my sandals, but the waves didn't end. More and more dropped from the bars and the ceiling, until I was sure I'd suffocate in the mass. I darted up the ladder, kicking off any that tried to follow me.

Loki had been forced away as the trap sprung up. Now he was frantically attempting to summon enough magic to put an end to the attack. My screaming probably didn't help, but I was too petrified to do much else.

The door to the room flew off its hinges, startling both Loki and myself. I was so surprised, I even stopped shrieking for a moment. The nasty little bugs froze where they stood, long enough for me to crawl further up the ladder.

In the doorway stood a fuming Dr. Doom. His metal mask was charred, and his cape had been torn to shreds. Nevertheless, there he was. With a flick of his hand, the bars dissipated into mist, leaving behind nothing but the spiders.

"I knew from the beginning that you would try something like this, Loki Odinson," he chuckled darkly. "You never were to be trusted."

With a snap of his fingers, silken ropes appeared out of nowhere and twined themselves around the speechless god of mischief. I watched him struggle, but it was no use.

"And you, Miss Hanson," he smirked beneath the mask. "I see you're enjoying the _friends _I set up for you. Yes, Hephaestus is a wonderful trap maker, is he not? I bought this specifically with the Avengers in mind," he said as he waltzed up to the ladder, stroking a gloved hand down the side. "See, I knew that when anyone tried to use this lovely tool, they would be trapped immediately by their greatest fear."

"Hephaestus is working for you?" I sputtered, shocked.

"Not directly, of course," Doom laughed. "He had no idea what I intended when I purchased this. Of course, he cannot refuse a customer."

"But-" I started to say, but with another snap of his fingers, a cloth stuffed itself into my mouth, and I couldn't speak.

"Know your place to speak, girl," Doom snarled. With a shove, he pushed me off the ladder, and I fell into the sea of arachnids below. They rushed at me, and soon I was covered by the furry things up to my neck. As they sunk their teeth into me, I felt the poison course through my veins. My head was foggy already, and my joints had begun to stiffen.

Dr. Doom turned to Loki next. "You think you are so far above me, Loki, because you are immortal, and I am not. Look at you now. It's pathetic," he spat.

"Let her go," Loki shot back, fists curling.

"Let the mortal go?" Doom sneered. "It will not do her any good. The poison is already in her heart. She will be dead within the hour, but whatever you wish." He waved his arm and the spiders disappeared along with the bars. From his cloak pocket, he withdrew a small bottle. I knew instantly that it had to be the antidote to the venom.

"Fight me," Loki said calmly. "Fight me now."

"You dare challenge me?" Doom raised his eyebrows. "What could you possibly gain from a fight?"

"Her," Loki nodded at me. "I win, you release her, and you give us the antidote to the venom. You win, I give you my head, and we give you access to the Avengers's secrets."

Doom considered Loki's proposal for a moment, judging the odds of his win. "I already know the head and the neck trick. I've read the myths before. You must promise your neck as well."

"Of course," Loki smiled. "In fact, you can have the girl's head as well. Actually, take her whole body. Is it a deal then?"

"Deal," Doom said, finally satisfied. "What shall it be, then? A sword fight? Fetter breaking?"

"No," Loki said smoothly, though I didn't miss the cringe when 'fetter breaking' was brought us. "I demand a game of wits."

"I see how you're playing this," Doom smirked. "You believe that by challenging me to a battle of intelligence, you will win. Not so, god of lies."

"Then let us play," Loki said. "We will see how well your statement holds up."

"I suppose we shall," Doom said. With a flourish of his hands, a card table appeared, draped in a dark green tablecloth. Two unmarked vials also shimmered into existence. Loki's bonds fell off, and he flexed his limbs, stretching them out after being tied so tightly.

"One of these will kill the drinker in an instant. The other holds innocent, though cheap, wine," Doom told us. "Both taste the same, both smell the same, both look the same, and both will cause severe pain. But only one will kill."

I couldn't believe Loki was betting both of our lives on a drinking game.

They took their seats facing each other. Slowly, Doom uncorked each little bottle and set them back on the table. A swish of his fingers, and they rearranged themselves. I tried watching where each one landed, but my eyes were growing heavy.

"Take your pick," Doom said jovially.

"Oh no, you first," Loki insisted with a dangerous smile.

"You realize that I hold the key to your girlfriend's life, correct?" Doom murmured. "If I pick the poison, I will have just enough time to crush the vial before I die. Either way, I still win."

"Yes, I am aware of that. I fear that it is a risk I must take. Now please, drink first. I insist." Loki wouldn't meet my eyes, no matter how much I strained to catch his. My brain was slowing; the spiders hadn't quit biting me. I feared that any moment, I'd lose consciousness, and I would miss the outcome of the game.

Doom considered each bottle for a moment, eyeing them from every angle. After what seemed like hours, he finally selected the one on the right. Loki picked up the one on the left, just as my vision started to blur. My eyelids were drooping.

"On the count of three," Loki murmured. Each man held their bottle to their lips as the slow countdown began. "One... Two... Three..."

They both tipped their vials back and let the liquid flow into their mouths.

The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was both Victor Von Doom and Loki Odinson crumpling to the ground.

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Loki stumbled up from his place on the floor, trying to ignore the icy fire rushing through his body. He stuck his hand down his boot and withdrew another dagger. This one was less decorated than the one Ande had tried to kill herself with. There were no decorations, no emblems. It was a plain silver dagger, with a hilt wrapped in leather.

He forced his feet forward, lurching to where Doom was also struggling to his feet. If Loki was about to die, there was no way in Helheim he was letting Doom live. His fingers trembled as he shoved Doom back onto the floor and raised his knife. Loki dropped to his knees and held Doom's chest steady with his spare hand.

"This is for Ande," he growled, eyes stinging. After all, it was probably too late for her as well. He hadn't missed it when she fainted completely.

It was quick. The knife plunged cleanly through, taking Doom's remaining life with it. The dying scream went unheard to all but the blood thirsty god of mischief.

The fire in his chest died. Loki deduced that either the poison was finally taking effect, or he had chosen the right vial after all. Now was not the time to wonder, however. He had to get to her.

The antidote to the spider venom was still in the newly deceased Dr. Doom's pocket. The flask was tiny, only enough for one swallow. He had to make sure it got down her throat.

He crawled across the steel floor to where she lay, taking care not to smash the bottle in his violently shaking fist. With one hand, he unscrewed the cap and forced Ande's mouth open. He tilted her chin back and poured the contents down her throat.

That was all he could do now. The only thing left was to wait and to pray that it would work.

It seemed to take a lifetime before her eyes fluttered open and she coughed her way back into reality. She sat up, disoriented. She didn't even have time to speak before Loki grabbed her up in a quick hug.

"Thank Odin," he muttered when he released her. "I thought... I thought..." He looked away, not bothering to finish his sentence.

"Never make a bet like that again, Loki," she said, but with a trace of a smile. "Is it over then?"

"No," he cleared his throat. "We still haven't accomplished what we originally intended to do." With one finger, he pointed back up at the ceiling.

"Hoist me up," she whispered. "I'll press it."

Loki kneeled down, and she clambered unsteadily onto his shoulders. He carefully stood. Together, their heights were just enough to reach the button. Ande pushed it twice for good measure, before they both fell to the ground, exhausted.

"Go to sleep," Loki said when he noticed her struggling to stay awake. "I'll message your team."

She shook her head in denial, but slumped over eventually, fast asleep. Loki smiled softly at her relaxed face. She was actually quite pretty when her brow wasn't scrunched up with worry or anger. Gently, he gathered her up in his arms and left the underground workroom.

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>Author's Note:<strong>_** Sadly, this story is drifting to a close. I'm expecting one or two more chapters, and then the epilogue. I'm still unsure as to whether I should continue with Ande/Loki or not. Any suggestions? I do have an idea that I believe is pretty good. I certainly could continue, if you want.**

**Wow. I'm three reviews away from getting one hundred reviews. I can't believe it. I've NEVER gotten so many reviews before. Thank you all so much!**

Thanks for reading. Please review.

-Loki's Little Helper


	20. Chapter 19

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They were sitting on the front porch when the Avengers arrived. Ande was still fast asleep, her head resting in Loki's lap. It wasn't the most convenient of situations, but Loki didn't want to risk taking a pillow for her, you know, in case it was rigged or something- at least that's what he tried to convince himself of. Besides, her hair, though dirty and messy, was soft and fun to run his fingers through.

The team came in two vehicles- both Tony Stark's, Loki assumed, as they were high end sports cars. Steve and Tony climbed out of the first car, followed by Thor emerging from the back seat. Clint, Bruce, and Natasha occupied the second car. 

They did not approach the pair on the porch. Loki sized them up, keeping his magic on hand, just in case.

He watched his brother take in their ragged appearance. Finally, he broke the ranks and strode over.

"Is she...?" he whispered. Loki rolled his eyes.

"She's sleeping, Thor. If you have any sense at all, you will not wake her," Loki threatened. Of course, Thor didn't listen. He reached out an oversized arm and shook Ande awake.

She blinked the sleep out of her eyes, blushing when she realized the position she had been in. That amused Loki slightly. She cleared her throat.

A grin spread across her face as she realized who was across from her. "Thor!" she exclaimed, relief flooding into her voice. She flew to her feet and practically jumped into the god of thunder's arms, crushing him in a hug. He returned it enthusiastically.

Ande pulled back and looked at her friends behind Thor. Tony approached them next.

"You can't imagine the scare we had when we went back to check on you and you were missing," he said to her. "I mean, it's too difficult to replace you. Stay out of trouble from now on."

"Of course, Tony," she laughed. The others swarmed her then, asking her question after question. Thor turned back to Loki and sat down next to him, taking Ande's spot.

"Brother," he started. "I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for me- for _us. _I just want to tell you that you shall always be my favorite brother, no matter what mischief you cause."

"I have a sneaking suspicion that we've been over this before, Thor. I am your only brother," Loki sighed, remembering the tragedy of Balder.

"Nevertheless, you are still my favorite," Thor said. For once in his life, he actually sounded sincere. Loki felt a twinge of sadness in his heart at the thought that despite all the pain he had caused his brother, Thor was still ready to forgive him.

"Mother and Father request my presence on Asgard," he admitted dully. "I ought to be going."

"I'll go with you," his brother offered. Loki shook his head.

"You have business to take care of on Midgard. I should not distract you from it." Loki stood, picking up his spear from where it lay on the sidewalk. "And, Thor... Thank you for forgiving me. I am more sorry than you can possibly fathom."

"You are my younger brother, Loki. Of course I'll forgive you." Thor gave him a sad smile.

"Heimdall, open the Bifrost!" he requested to the heavens. Immediately, dark clouds began to form, crackling with electricity.

Across the street, Ande looked up from where she was congregating with the other Avengers. She must've noticed that Loki had stood to leave, and she ran back across to him.

"Loki, wait," she called out. Loki turned, surprised. "Where are you going?"

"Asgard," he replied shortly. "I am going home."

"Are you going to come back?" she asked, grey eyes wide.

"I- I am not sure. It depends on what my father decides to do with me." He straightened his shoulders as the thunderous Bifrost cloud grew thicker.

"I'll get to see you again, right?" She clamped her teeth down on her lower lip.

"I'll try," he muttered. "But I need to leave now. Goodbye, Andelyn." He turned to go.

"Stop," she whispered. He turned his head back to her, only to have his lips suddenly met by hers. They were soft, warm, gentle. His heart sped up for a brief second, but before he had the chance to kiss her back, she pulled away and walked to the other side of the street without turning back.

Without warning, the Bifrost engulfed him, and he was shot back to Asgard. The tingling sensation on his lips still lingered.  
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>"You know, this meeting room is pretty dull," Steve remarked as we entered the debriefing room to meet with Fury for the first time since the war began. "I think it needs something to spice it up."<p>

"You do that, wonder boy," Natasha said sarcastically. From beside her, Bruce giggled at the remark.

We took our seats. Nick Fury marched through a concealed doorway, a hint of a smile gracing his face for the first time in a while.

"It's over," he announced, sitting down. "I just got off the phone with the president. The relocation process will begin next week."

"I'm assuming we'll have to assist with that?" Tony questioned while knocking back a bottle of vodka.

"Yep," Fury said shortly. "Is that a problem, Mr. Stark?"

"Nah, as long as it doesn't interfere with the celebration party tomorrow night. My place, 6 o'clock. Be there," he added, pointing around the room to each of us. I resisted the temptation to roll my eyes- of course Tony was having a party right after the almost apocalypse. I wasn't even surprised.

"Uh huh," Fury dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Anyways, you did well, all of you."

"Does this mean we get a raise?" Clint asked. Fury ignored him.

"Now to deal with the after effect," he said sternly. "Thor, what happened with Loki?" I bit my bottom lip and directed my gaze to the table, feeling a blush creep up my cheeks. I had been mentally berating myself for the past hour. Why had I kissed him? He probably thinks I'm some psychopath now.

Thor looked down as well. "He has returned to Asgard to await punishment by the All-Father. It is unknown as to whether he shall return here or not."

"And if he does come back?" Natasha swung her legs up and propped them on the table. "What do we do with him?"

Thor fell silent for a brief moment, before answering. "We bring him here. To the helicarrier." I snapped my head up, staring in shock. What had he just said? Bring Loki to the helicarrier? I wasn't even sure what I thought about that idea. In fact, I hadn't even considered it at all. Thor, apparently, was one step ahead of me.

"You're joking, right?" Nick narrowed his eyes. "You want to bring our biggest enemy to our database? Are you insane, Thor?"

"He has redeemed himself in more ways than you can understand," Thor shouted, rising. He jabbed a finger at me. "Ask her. She was there."

Eight pairs of eyes fell on me. I winced, but sat up straighter, clearing my throat. "It's true. He saved all of our lives." My rapidly pounding heart thudded in my ear drums. The tension in the room was extremely thick, and, well, I didn't like having it placed all on me. Clint made a taunting kissing face at me. I resisted the urge to reach across the table and punch him. I promised myself that somehow, I would get back at him for this. I'd teach him what happened to people who teased me, the daughter of Athena.

"That does not excuse his actions," Fury growled, standing as well. Thankfully, everyone else turned back to him, and I slouched back down in my seat with relief.

"How could it not?" Thor yelled. Outside the helicarrier, thunder rumbled in the distance, loud enough that it echoed through the thick steel walls surrounding us. I repressed a shudder- I hated making Thor angry, just for that specific reason. "He died for me. He risked his life to save her. He destroyed the Skrulls singlehandedly. He is my brother, and I demand he is granted access to our team, if he so chooses."

"Do you honestly trust him that much?" Fury chuckled. "He practically destroyed the world."

"And then he saved it. I trust him with my life," Thor declared.

Fury considered him for a long moment, letting his words sink in. "We'll vote for it. All in favor of letting Loki join, raise your right hand."

Thor stuck his hand in the air as high as possible. Clint rolled his eyes and joined him in raising his hand. Tony nudged me in the side and we both put our hands up, me with only some slight reservations. Only Bruce, Natasha, Steve, and, of course, Fury abstained from repeating the action.

It was split, directly down the middle.

"Clint, Tony, why are you on their side?" Nick studied them as if they had suddenly gone crazy.

"Eh, Loki has his redeeming qualities. He'd be fun to have around," Tony shrugged, swirling around his nearly empty vodka bottle. He frowned as he measured the amount of drink left with his brooding, bloodshot eyes.

"And I really don't care what we do with him, as long as he quits his 'let's destroy the world' act," Clint put in, sharpening one of his arrows with a grinding stone.

"That's the point," Fury fumed. "We don't know if he's really quit."

"He has," Thor insisted, clenching his fists. "I'm as wary as any of you. Do not think you know my brother better than I do. I know Loki is a clever, scheming bastard. I know that he gets his enjoyment out of inflicting pain on others. But I also know that no matter how evil he seems to be, he still has a soul. He still has good within him. He still has the capability of love. Whatever happens on Asgard today will influence his next decision. We can only hope that it all goes well."

"Loki? _Love_? You have got to be kidding me," Natasha snarled. "He doesn't know how to love!"

Thor ignored her, but I didn't miss his short glance directed plainly at me. I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment. Natasha followed his stare and rested her eyes on me for the briefest of moments, before disregarding me completely.

"Then let's wait and re-vote if and when he returns," Steve said. "It's the only logical thing to do. If he really has changed, then maybe letting him join wouldn't be a completely bad thing. The man is a genius, after all. I'm not saying I want him on the team as of now, but perhaps in the future, it'd be a possibility."

"Genius or not-" Fury started saying, but Tony quickly broke in.

"He'd be a valuable asset. He really would. But maybe we could just, I don't know, keep a closer eye on him this time?" Tony smirked, depositing his bottle in the trash can by his chair, and slipping a flask of who knows what out of his suit pocket. He uncorked the lid with such a snap, it kind of hurt my sore ears. The battle hadn't been quiet, after all.

"I'm in a room full of idiots," Natasha grumbled. "If you had any sense, you'd all realize that having Loki on board the helicarrier would be complete suicide to our entire purpose."

"She's right," Bruce said meekly, shrinking back in his seat. I realized that this was the first time I'd heard him speak during a meeting. His voice was quieter than I imagined, softer, but still had a ring of authority. I realized then that I didn't like him in the least, though I couldn't place the reason for my sudden hatred.

"Natasha," Thor growled, glaring daggers at her. She rolled her eyes, and met his stare easily.

"Gonna fight me thunder boy?" she sneered, pulling a tiny switchblade out of her tight leather pants and flipping it open.

"I very well might," Thor replied coldly, reaching for his hammer, still tied to his waist.

"Enough!" Fury shouted. "There will be no fighting amongst the team. You are a family now, and I expect you to treat each other as such."

"Ever hear of good old sibling rivalry, huh, Nick?" Natasha chuckled, breaking away from her glaring contest with the furious god of thunder. She did put away her blade though, which was somewhat reassuring.

Fury sighed but otherwise ignored her jabbing comment. "Look, Thor, if this placates in any way, I'll think about letting Loki join. If he proves himself trustworthy- and that will take a lot of proving- then maybe, in time, he can join the team."

"He will prove himself worthy," Thor insisted, but calmed down considerably after that.

"Next order of business," the director said. The attention that had been so focused on the showdown between Black Widow and Thor snapped back to the man in the eye patch. "World rebuilding efforts. Are we all at an agreement that the cause of this destruction should be the one to put it right?"

The room nodded their agreement.

"Thor, I would like you to inform your brother of this. Do not take no for an answer," Fury continued sternly. Thor nodded once, keeping his lips pursed in a tight line.

"I think this concludes our meeting for today. We'll continue tomorrow morning at ten. Go get some rest team, except for Thor and Ms. Romanoff. I'd like to have some words with you both," he announced. We all stood up from our chairs, gratefully stretching our sore limbs. I couldn't wait to fall into bed and sleep for the rest of the day. I was both mentally and physically exhausted.

I turned to leave, but at the last minute, Fury caught me as I exited. "Oh, and Miss Hanson." I turned wearily. "You have a visitor. I was instructed to tell you to go to the Starbucks on the corner of Fifth and Fifty-Second Street."

I paled. If I remembered correctly, that was the exact same coffee shop where I had received the unexpected visitor only a few weeks ago.

And I was certain that that visitor would be my mother.

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_**Author's Note:**_** One more chapter, and then the epilogue, everyone. Just as a heads-up. If you'd like a sequel, please tell me in a review or a PM. I'd be grateful if you would do so! I'm so sorry that I'm too lazy to respond to all of your reviews, but I want to tell you just how much each one means to me, and that I take every one of your suggestions to heart. Thank you all for reviewing these past chapters!**

**Thanks for reading, and please review!**

**-Loki's Little Helper**


	21. Chapter 20

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Loki's feet hit the intricate metal flooring of the building that housed the Bifrost bridge.

"Welcome back, my prince," Heimdall said in his deep, rumbling voice. Loki couldn't tell if it was sarcasm or not.

"Nice to see you as well, good Heimdall," he muttered suspiciously. Loki started walking for the entrance, shoes tapping, the sound reverberating against the circular dome walls. Oh, how he had missed that sound.

"King Odin awaits you in the great hall," Heimdall said. His calm, serene tone had always somewhat disturbed Loki. There was little emotion behind it. Loki wondered if he would ever get to the point of not caring anymore. Would his voice be the same as the gatekeeper's?

The Bifrost bridge was enormously long. Loki wished he had a horse or something to shorten the journey. Then he realized just how much he was dreading this confrontation with his father and was suddenly glad of the long walk awaiting him.

The newly rebuilt bridge glimmered beneath his feet with various shades of red, orange, green, blue, violet... The colors were endless. It was difficult for him to even describe the vast array of coloration. The light was constantly shifting, giving way to a color that he had never encountered before. He kept his eyes on the path ahead of him, looking at anything but the approaching city of Asgard.

The waves crashed beneath the bridge, lapping up against the metal supporting beams. The water of this sea seemed to change colors as often as the bridge itself. One minute, it was an inky purple. The next, it was a rich navy. When it changed to a stormy gray, he had to break his eyes away. That particular color held far too many reminders.

Eventually, the end of the bridge came into clear view. Instinctually, he clenched his fists in worry, digging his nails into the skin of his palms. Currently, two guards from the royal army stood watch on either side, both standing ruler-straight. Loki passed through the golden gate. Neither of the stiff soldiers acknowledged his presence.

As he traveled through the winding streets up to the palace, passerby stopped and stared with awe. Even young Iduna paused in her apple picking to take a gander at him, something she had never done before. Apparently, the citizens were in shock that the youngest prince of Asgard dared to show his face here once more. Many a vehement glare was directed his way. Loki didn't care; he wasn't quite fond of the people either. He kept his head straight, refusing to back away from the condescending stares. His eyes narrowed, but he otherwise pressed forth.

At last, he reached the palace. Without a word, he pushed through the double doors that led into the house of Odin.

Two other guards in their golden helmets waited to escort him to the king. Politely, they each nodded their heads in a greeting. Loki couldn't help but feel that they were courteous to him because Odin had instructed them to be.

The two guards led him into the majestic throne room. It was exactly as it had been the last time he had been there- roughly twelve hours ago. The only thing that had changed was that the black banners had been replaced by green and red, and another figure accompanied his father by the throne.

Upon seeing her youngest son, Frigga squeaked with relief and dashed to him, engulfing Loki in an enormous hug. Warm tears of relief ran down her already water-streaked cheeks and soaked into his shoulder. Loki patted his mother on the back absently, but kept his eyes trained on the figure still sitting on the throne.

"Frigga," the calm, gentle voice commanded. "Let the boy breathe."

The queen reluctantly withdrew, caressing his cheek in a motherly way before backing off. Loki gave her a reassuring half smile, and she retreated to stand beside one of the gleaming pillars. Then he took a deep breath and approached the gilded throne. He knelt down out of respect and put one clenched fist to his heart as was required by anyone who spoke directly to the king.

"Father," he began, "I have done as you have asked. Midgard is safe."

"For the moment, at least. The mortals never can stay out of trouble for long," Odin murmured, considering his youngest son. "Nevertheless, Loki, I am proud of you. You have done a tremendous service for both Midgard and Asgard. I thank you."

Loki nodded slightly, but otherwise kept his head bowed, looking at the ground. His ears were ringing.

Odin sighed deeply; still staring at the man knelt before him. "Unfortunately, my duty as a father and my duty as a king often cross. I cannot allow you to return to Asgard permanently." There was a trace of regret in his father's voice, lingering even throughout the abrupt departure of those few short words. Loki felt faint. After all he had done to redeem himself, it still wasn't good enough? He supposed that was fair enough.

"Odin-" Frigga stepped forth then, hands held in front of her. The All-Father held up one finger to silence her. Being the obedient wife she was, the queen fell silent, though her lips were pursed firmly together, clearly saying,_ 'I do not agree with this.'_Her warm brown eyes gleamed angrily.

"Allow me to finish," Odin said. "Loki, you must understand that even the noblest actions will not excuse the most horrific of deeds. You cannot escape punishment."

"I... I understand, Father," Loki mumbled. His heart felt heavy; it was difficult to breathe.

"I have had a while to think about this, and I have decided on what your punishment will be," Odin announced, standing from the throne and holding his spear aloft.

Loki cringed, awaiting the final blow. He should have known that this was all too good to be true; he should have known returning to Asgard would mean immediate execution. How could he have been so _stupid?_Though perhaps he deserved to die... His mournful thinking drowned out what his father had begun to say.

"... Two mortal years," Odin concluded, bringing the end of Gungnir down on the marble step. The loud clunk snapped Loki back to reality.

"Wait, what?" he asked, totally confused. "I did not catch that, Father. Forgive me."

"Were you not listening? I have decided that your punishment will be to live amongst the mortals for two years. In that time, you must fix what you have destroyed. You must do some good for the humans."

Loki couldn't believe his ears. He blinked several times as he let it all set in. He wasn't going to die. _He wasn't going to die._Not today, at least. His body spread with an overwhelming sense of relief.

"You may not have contact with Asgard until the allotted time has passed, with the exception of your brother, if he so chooses to remain in Midgard with you. Do you understand the terms of your banishment? "

Loki nodded blankly. "I- I figured… Execution…" he muttered, voice trailing off.

Odin considered the boy before him for a brief moment. "Loki, I could never kill you. You are my son; a true son of Odin."  
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The air had turned bitter as I made my wobbly descent towards the coffee shop, trying to balance on my broken sandals. Maybe it was just my own imagination, but the temperature had seemingly dropped ten degrees since the last time I had been outside. I shivered and pulled my seared cape tighter around my shoulders.

The door to the dingy shop was wide open: a beckon for me to come right in. I didn't take it as a good sign.

The smell of freshly brewed tea hit my nose as I stepped inside. The inviting aroma wafted around me, warming me to the bone. It reminded me of simpler times, times spent with my mortal family. I hadn't had contact with them in years. Come to think of it, ever since I graduated High School, I hadn't had much contact with anybody.

The shop was empty. My brow scrunched in confusion. I was at the right place, right? If I had gotten the location wrong... Well, it would give her yet another item to add to her list of things wrong with me.

"_Andromeda: America's Mystery Woman_," a stern voice rang out from behind me. I jumped and whirled around.

Sitting cross legged on the back counter was my mother. A newspaper had been spread out in front of her, covering her lap. Next to her sat a short stack of more newspapers.

"'While no official reports of the Manhattan battle have been released as of publication, many eyewitness accounts tell of a strange, new person fluttering around the skies of New York in recent weeks. According to one source, this is a new member of our cherished team of superheroes: The Avengers. Another source states that she is an enemy, working on the side of evil. Who is this unknown being? Is she friend, or is she a new enemy? Turn to page A16 for more details.'" Athena read aloud. I blinked. "And this isn't the only paper you have made headlines in."

She pulled another paper off of the pile and held it up. Under the title 'A New Hero' was a large black and white photo showing a person hovering in the skies, a cape wrapped around her shoulders. Smudges from the camera lens show that it had been raining the day the picture had been snapped.

It was me, taken the day of the evacuation. My skin crawled as I recalled the acid rain pouring down around us.

"Andromeda is a fitting name for a Greek princess," Athena remarked, studying me closely. I felt self-conscious of my appearance all of a sudden. I tugged on my frayed and stained dress. "She was always a favorite of mine, though I'll admit that Ariadne held the top spot."

"Of course," I mumbled, quiet enough that I figured she wouldn't hear. "Second place, as always."

Athena gave no indication whether she had heard me or not, but she sighed and slid off of the counter, setting her paper aside. Her stormy grey chiton swirled down to her feet, creating pools of fabric and accenting her eyes. A thin, golden band encircled her curly blonde hair. Her face was timeless- wise, beautiful, and eternally strict. I didn't think I had ever seen her truly smile.

She glided over to one of the sticky booths, the same booth that we had last sat together at. "Sit, child," she instructed. I obeyed, feet shuffling forward miserably. I wasn't in the mood for a lecture today, especially considering everything I had been through in the last forty-eight hours.

"May I offer you a cup of coffee? Tea? Perhaps hot chocolate?" she asked. With each wave of her long fingered hand, a cup of each drink appeared before me.

"No, thank you," I whispered.

"Andelyn, you haven't eaten in at least two days. You must be hungry. Maybe a muffin? A scone?" she offered, waving her hand. A plate of various pastries appeared before me. I stared at them dubiously.

"Eat," she instructed, lifting her own tea cup to her lips. Obediently, I grabbed a chocolate muffin and took a bite. I couldn't even taste it. I chewed a few times and swallowed. It had the texture of plastic. I figured that's what you get when you eat at a New York Starbucks. I shuddered, but took another bite. I hadn't realized just how hungry I was.

"Mother," I started to say as I swallowed again. She held up a slender finger, a signal for me to shut up. I lowered my muffin back down to the plate.

"I will talk," she said. "You will finish that muffin _before_ I shove it down your throat." Her eyes glinted dangerously, and I had no doubts that she actually would force feed me, so I continued eating the rubbery muffin. What was this thing _made _of, exactly? _Cement?_It stuck to the sides of my throat, and it was all I could do not to gag it back up.

"I feel as if I owe you an apology," my mother sighed. I tried to open my mouth in shock, but the muffin had seemingly glued my teeth together. Athena? Apologizing to me? That was new. She eyed me briefly before launching into her speech.

"I haven't been quite fair to you ever since you failed your mission when you were fifteen. You were too young. I never should have granted permission for you to partake on such a dangerous quest. But you were so eager to please me that I had to give you your chance.

"And then the 'incident' occurred. I was shocked and upset that someone would have dared to do that to my daughter… I became angry; resentful, even. I should not have taken that anger out on you. After all, you had done nothing wrong.

"Naturally, I refused to grant you anymore quests. I demanded that you stay within camp's borders at all times during the summer months. I believe that is the time you began to despise me. You became bitter and withdrawn from the mythological world, insisting that I didn't love you, when all I wanted was to protect you."

I couldn't believe what she was telling me. It was too good to be true. This had to be a scam, I was certain. Then Athena reached across the table and took my hand in her own.

"It was wrong of me to let this go on for so long," she whispered. "We should have had this conversation a long time ago, long before you detached yourself from Olympus."

I cleared my throat, hoping that somehow it would also clear my head. I wrenched my teeth apart to open my mouth, but I couldn't find the right words to say, so I closed it again.

"I have lived for thousands upon thousands of years, and never before have I had such a sensitive child," she shook her head. "Most of my children strive to please me, but not as much as you. What makes you different?"

I wanted to answer, but it clearly was a rhetorical question. I bit my lip and shrugged.

"You are oddly silent," she observed, tilting her head slightly. Her golden curls tumbled down her shoulder. "Speak. Surely, you must have questions."

I thought for a moment. The only question I really wanted to ask bubbled to my lips, and before I could stop it, it came forth.

"I just want to know why you gave me up as a baby. That's all." I withdrew my hand from hers and slid my gaze to the sticky table. A little crumb of chocolate muffin was stuck to the surface. I studied that piece intently, anticipating and somewhat dreading what she was about to tell me.

"I had no choice," she murmured sadly. "Zeus doesn't allow demigods on Olympus, except in very special cases. Your mortal father wanted nothing to do with you. I had to put you up for adoption."

I closed my eyes, picturing the night I found out the truth of my birth. Subconsciously, I shivered as I remembered the icy winter winds piercing my skin as I ran down the street, away from home, away from everything.

"I guess that makes sense," I muttered. "Why didn't my dad want me?"

"It was an inconvenient time for him. He didn't like children. He told me that many times when we were romantically involved. I should have listened," she whispered. "I am so sorry."

Tears pricked my eyes. Did she _really _just tell me that she was sorry I was born? I went over her words in my mind again. Yeah, she'd just told me that she was sorry I was born. It stung, but I really couldn't blame her. I absently wondered how many kids of hers had died painful hero deaths. I imagined that would put a damper on being a mother.

"You took it the wrong way," she observed, studying my face. "I did not mean it like that."

"It's fine," I shrugged again. But really, it wasn't fine.

There was a brief moment of silence while she kept staring at me, and I kept fighting back the tears that threatened to spill over.

"Andelyn," she finally said. I looked up. "Those shoes you are wearing, may I see them?"

Confused, I nodded slowly and bent down to un-strap Thor's sandals. The war had been rough on them. Leather was starting to peel off, scorch marks lacing up the sides. The wings on my left sandal had been entirely torn off, eaten away by stupid Dr. Doom and his stupid spiders. I passed them across to her.

"Incredible," she said, examining the pair one shoe at a time. "These are almost as intricate as the original pair I crafted for Hermes when he was but a child. Obviously, the design is lacking, but I wonder..." Her voice trailed off as she ran her fingers over the cracked sole of the right shoe.

"Yes?" I prompted. My feet were freezing against the icy Starbucks tile, and I was pretty sure that I just put my foot in a puddle of dried coffee. Gross.

"Do you mind?" she asked, setting the pair on the table and raising her hands to perform a spell.

"Um-" I started to protest, but she didn't wait for me to finish. A brilliant, silver glow enveloped the room, its focus being the pair of sandals themselves. I shielded my eyes against the blinding light, leaning back in my seat and averting my face. Athena stared on calmly, the bright rays hardly affecting her immortal eyes.

When the light died done enough that it was safe to look, I saw my sandals sitting in the same place, but... They weren't my sandals.

The design of them had completely changed. Instead of being dull brown, worn, and thread bare, they were twenty times better. The broken wings had been upgraded to sleek, gold trimmed ones. The sandal itself was brand new, and instead of the old brown color, it was a bright mahogany/gold hue. The edges of the straps were pure gold.

They were spectacular.

"Thanks... Mom," I added as an afterthought. Athena seemed pleased.

"I've waited a long time to hear you call me that again." She smiled a real smile then, not a fake smirk as usual. The corners of her eyes lifted up to match her upturned lips.

I met her grin with my own and reached across the table to pick my new and improved sandals up. I bent down and tied them back on. Before they had been slightly loose, but they fit me perfectly now. They were already molded to fit my feet exactly.

Athena's face dropped the smile as I straightened up. My face fell as well, mirroring her own.

"I realize that I never took the chance to talk to you about that night five years ago. The night when your mission failed," she explained. "Do you want to talk about it now?"

"No," I shook my head wildly, cringing at the mere memory. "I don't. I never will, either."

"I understand," she sighed. "Perhaps if things were different between us..."

"Even then, no. I don't like talking about it," I muttered.

"I won't bring it up again," she vowed. Then she glanced out the windows. The afternoon sky had turned dusky. "I think you should be getting home before your friends begin to worry."

I nodded, still wincing at the now fresh memory of that night. "You're right. I should go." I was reluctant to stand up. When would I ever get this chance to talk to my mother civilly again?

It was like she read my mind. "Ande, I promise that it will never be this bad between us ever again. We will talk again, I swear."

"Alright." I half smiled at her. "Goodbye, Mother." I stood up to leave.

"One last thing," she called out as I was halfway out the door. I turned back. She was now standing as well. "I give you permission to date that Loki boy," she growled. "I do not approve, but perhaps he will be good for you. You have my blessing." My face heated up as she brought up yet another memory- the memory of the kiss from earlier today. I opened my mouth to say something, but she was gone.

"Thanks," I whispered, knowing that she'd hear me.

I was about to leap in the air to leave, but a weird clicking noise halted me in my tracks. I spun around, searching for the noise.

Snap._ Whirr. _Scrape.

There it was again. I debating about closing in on it, but then I realized that I honestly didn't care. I was loopy from lack of sleep, anyways. It was probably just my imagination. Or maybe that muffin was affecting my brain.

At least, that's what I convinced myself of.

Shrugging it off and with a much lighter heart, I jumped in the air and headed back to the helicarrier; headed back home.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Author's Note:**_**Guys, I am so sorry for the wait for this chapter. I can't apologize enough. I was hit with writer's block, on top of having zero time to write. The wait for the next chapter won't be nearly as long, I promise. In fact, I've had it written before I ever even starting writing Grounded.**

**Yes, this is the last chapter. Stay tuned for the epilogue, however! It should be posted sometime next week.**

**Oh, and in case you haven't noticed, I changed my penname. The old one wasn't doing it for me. Sorry about the confusion.**

**I hope you liked it. Once again, I apologize for the delay in updating. Please review!**

**-SketchbookPianist**


	22. Epilogue

**Epilogue  
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"Look, I'm sorry Tony. I'm just really not in the mood to party right now," I said for what seemed like the hundredth time that evening.

"We just saved the world. You should be celebrating," he complained, throwing his hands up in the air. His eyes were already starting to become bloodshot. Vaguely, I wondered how many drinks he'd had so far tonight.

Tony quickly glanced around the room, looking for some excuse to make me stay. His eyes fell on the god of thunder. "Think of Thor! He will be disappointed if you leave."

I eyed where Thor was standing, talking animatedly to his girlfriend, Jane. "I think he'll be fine without me."

"Ande, relax. It's a party. Have some fun once in a while and quit worrying about everything." He placed his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow.

"This isn't really my idea of fun." My eyes scanned the crowded party room of Tony's New York mansion, feeling self-conscious. I looked down at my outfit. It was a deep purple dress with a scooped neckline a little lower than I would have liked and it twirled out like a bell when I spun. Pepper had picked it out earlier, ignoring my complaints. She had all but forced me into it. It was lovely, really. At least I had been able to talk her out of the heels- after much pestering, she finally allowed me to wear my sandals.

"Still no word from Loki?" Tony sighed. I glanced away, shaking my head. My fists clenched up as I thought about him.

"Thor spoke with Odin earlier. Odin said that Loki is here on Earth, but he hasn't tried contacting us." I really didn't want to talk about this right now. I was afraid I'd start crying or something stupid like that if I did.

"Alright, fine," he sighed, obviously exasperated. "Go get some sleep. We'll have another party next week and I expect to see you there." His tone was stern, but his grin gave it all away.

"Of course Mr. Stark," I replied gratefully. I turned on my heels and walked out the wide open door, where various people were still spilling in. I easily dodged through the crowd, hoping that nobody would recognize me. I'd answered enough questions that night. From behind me, the music was cranked up to the point of blasting.

Finally succeeding in leaving the premises, I examined the tall buildings located around the mansion. Construction had already begun on several of them, large cranes suspending metal beams in the air as work ceased for the day. The place was vacant aside from the sounds of the party booming behind me. Out of ingrained habit, I reached up to twirl my owl pendant in my fingers. The tiny charm meant so much more now that I was on speaking terms with my mother again.

I started walking down the aligned streets of Manhattan. The silence still got to me, ringing in my ears. This wasn't the New York that I knew. No car horns. No people. No vendors. No newsstands. No obnoxious people trying to force you to buy their overpriced t-shirts. The relocation process had barely begun. We hadn't even tried bringing the citizens back to their homes in New York, as the place was still deemed unsafe. It made me wonder where Tony had acquired all the party-goers.

I was several blocks away before I looked up again. This was another construction site. Directly above me hung a steel I-beam. A lone figure perched on it as it swayed slightly in the spring wind.

The small wings on my sandals unfolded and began fluttering. Gently, I lifted off the ground and flew up to meet him. Flying wasn't scary anymore. It was a nice break from reality, actually.

My toes made contact with cold metal as I landed smoothly on the beam. It wasn't particularly thick, though it was long and wide. A golden, horned helmet sat some distance away from where its owner was seated.

"We've been looking for you for hours," I spoke up. He raised his head in acknowledgment of my words.

"Perhaps I didn't want to be found," he said bitterly. I took a step nearer to him, holding my arms out to balance me so I didn't fall off the beam.

"Where have you been?"

"Here," he said simply. "Watching the rebuilding efforts. Mortals can be quite resourceful when they must be."

I sat down and let my legs dangle over the edge.

"What happened with your father?" I nearly whispered, fearing the answer. A nagging voice in the back of my mind kept repeating 'he gets what he deserves, even if it's death.' I shoved that heart wrenching thought out of my head, cringing visibly.

"He has forgiven me. But that does not mean I am to escape punishment."

He fell silent, obviously unwilling to say what happened next.

"Go on," I prompted. He turned to face me.

"I have been banished for two mortal years. I will not be able to return to Asgard until I have done some sort of good for Midgard. I must fix what I have ruined."

"You could join us," I offered. He snorted. "We've already discussed it as a team. It was Thor's idea. Fury said he'd consider it."

"I see..." His voice trailed off as he gulped, shaking his head.

Even from up here, the music from the mansion was still audible. The lights were not visible, however. In fact, it was dark- as dark as it ever could become in Manhattan.

"Where does this leave us?" he finally brought up, not meeting my eyes.

"What do you mean?" I was pretty sure I knew what he was getting at, though.

"Are we friends? Or are we now enemies?" he sighed.

I didn't talk for a minute, thinking.

"Loki... Do you remember way back when we were younger and we went driving around in my sister's little yellow car to go rescue your brother?"

He looked up in surprise. "Yes. Are you still that terrible a driver?"

"Shut up," I glowered. "But remember when you were about to leave and I told you that you'd always be my best friend?"

He nodded slowly. "Did you mean that?"

"Loki, regardless of what I've said to you before, you still are and always will be my best friend," I explained carefully. "I meant everything I said."

"As did I, my dear," he whispered. "Do you remember when we went to that party together and we danced? I kept stepping on your feet."

"Are you still that bad at dancing?" I grinned smugly. He rolled his eyes and continued.

"The night I left Earth, I was dwelling on that memory. I promised myself then and there that if I ever returned to Midgard, I would make that dance up to you," he recalled. "Maybe I'll finally get that chance someday."

I couldn't help but smile. Maybe he was right. Maybe we would finally get the chance to dance. Below us, the music drifted to a slightly slower song.

"Vindicated," I whispered, recognizing the first few bars of the new song. Loki raised his eyebrows.

"Excuse me?" he asked, turning his body to face me.

"It's the name of this song," I said, gesturing vaguely down to the vacant streets the music was playing from. "It's one of my favorites."

"Isn't this the same song that was playing during our first dance?" he wondered aloud. My eyes widened; he was right. I was shocked that he would remember such an insignificant detail.

"Well, yeah. It is," I muttered, breaking my gaze away from his. My heart was fluttering, though I wasn't sure why.

"Which brings me to my question," he continued. "Will you allow me to make up that pitiful dance right now?" Loki held out his hand as an invitation.

I whipped my head back around to face him, smiling slightly. I hesitantly placed my hand in his. "I thought you'd never ask."

He stood and pulled me up with him. I noticed our problem then. "Um, I don't know if you've realized this, but there isn't exactly room to dance..." my voice faded away.

He waved his hand and the air surrounding our feet solidified into a glass like substance. "Problem solved."

He took a step out on the newly created dance floor. It seemed to support his weight well enough, but that didn't stop me from being nervous. Flying was an entirely different thing, because at least I had some control over it. Loki was a trickster and, well, I wasn't certain that he wouldn't let me fall just to tease me.

"It is quite safe, I assure you," he said as he noticed the reluctant look that appeared on my face.

"Okay, but don't let me go," I muttered.

"I never would." His smile was sincere, and there was no other motive behind it. So I took a step off of the beam.

It was terrifying, thrilling, and marvelous all at once. I could hardly feel the surface under my feet; it was as if the air itself was supporting me. I wanted to laugh with pure giddiness at the feeling. Loki's smile grew wider as he watched my face light up.

Still holding my right hand, he placed his empty hand gently on my waist. I reached up and set my other hand on his shoulder. We began to sway in time to the music.

It was peaceful being so high up, away from any noise except the music. Loki spun me around with grace.

"You have definitely improved since last time." I grinned, impressed.

"I've had quite a while to work on it," he murmured. He lifted up one hand and waved it with a flourish. In his palm appeared a shining golden flower. It was beautiful- sparkling and gleaming with a delicate stem. Loki placed it in my hair and we continued our dance.

He twirled me again and caught me in a low dip. Our faces were almost touching, but he leaned back at the last moment. I felt the slightest degree of sadness at that.

The dance went on, in careful time to the flowing music.

I rested my head on his shoulder as the music changed and was replaced by a beat with a much faster tempo. Loki didn't appear to have noticed. His head was resting atop my own.

"I think the song is over," I said, backing away shakily. My palms were sweaty, so I hurriedly wiped them on my dress. It didn't seem to help.

"Right. Sorry." He offered his hand and we walked back to sit on the steel beam together. His hands were a little moist too, I noted.

With our hands clasped, I couldn't help but smile. The breeze picked up and it blew my hair slightly out of place. Loki reached over and tucked a small strand back behind my ear. The small gesture made me shiver though his hands were warm for once. Maybe I was catching a cold... Yes, that would explain the semi-nauseous feeling that had developed in the pit of my stomach. But for some reason, it wasn't necessarily a bad feeling.

"There is something I have been meaning to talk to you about," he said, swallowing. His eyes moved to look at the street below us.

"What is it?" I asked, eyebrows raised. I bit down my tongue, but I quit when the metallic taste of blood spread over my taste buds.

"It's... Well... I..." he sighed, shaking his head pitifully. "I am supposed to be Loki with the silver tongue, the one who always knows just what to say. Lately, however, I never know what I should do and how I should act around… well, you, in particular."

I blinked, unsure of what to say. "Yeah?"

He sat in silence for a moment before turning his gaze towards me. Emerald eyes met my own grey. His look was smoldering. My breathing accelerated, highly anticipating the words that were about to spill out of his mouth. "What I really want to tell you is that... I love you. I always have, ever since we first met."

My mouth fell open and I tore my hand out of his, scooting at least a foot away from him. His eyes widened. "I'm sorry. Perhaps I should not have said that-"

He broke off because I had already thrown my arms around him in a tight embrace. He wrapped his own arms around me, cautiously at first, but more enthusiastic when I didn't let him go. I slowly released him, staring into his eyes. No, no, no, I can't do this right now, I thought to myself.

But it was too late. He leaned in, and our lips touched.

Thoughts rushed through my spinning head as our mouths moved in synchronization. He deepened the kiss and I tangled my hand in his silky black hair. I curled into his soft touch, trying to make sense of what was happening.

His lips became more frantic as he tightened his grip on my waist, crushing me against him. I was beginning to feel lightheaded, but that fact barely bothered me.

Oxygen seemed unimportant to me right now. All that mattered was Loki. He consumed my reeling thoughts, the taste of his lips filling my mouth. I could stay like this forever and be completely content.

But I needed to breathe, desperately now. I had to force my lips away from him, gasping. His cheeks, for once, were flushed pink, and his lips were swollen. His hair was completely mussed up. I imagined I probably looked about the same right now.

I pressed my hand to my mouth, feeling it tingle beneath my fingertips. Gently, Loki removed my fingers from my lips and placed both of his hands on either side of my face. Ever so softly, he placed a chaste, short kiss on my lips one more time before standing up and putting distance between us. He kept his back turned to me and gazed out over the darkened city.

Finally regaining my senses, I stood as well and walked out to where he was. I had spent years refusing love from anyone after the incident when I was fifteen. What had happened to me? I had sworn I would never let myself become physically and emotionally attached- in the romantic sense, of course. My hands dropped to my stomach. If only Loki knew what the thin layer of dress fabric covered... I repressed a shudder and shoved the terrible memory into the back of my brain.

I took a step closer. I couldn't believe I was about to say this.

"Loki..." I murmured. He didn't turn around.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn't have kissed you like that. It was uncalled for." I ignored his apology.

Instead, I grabbed his wrist, spinning him around to face me. I stood on my tiptoes and planted my lips on his again.

And then, with a tiny smile on my face, I whispered, "I love you too."

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0  
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>Author's Note:<strong>_**And they all lived happily ever after! Well... Not quite, but I guess you'll have to wait until the sequel to this sequel... Assuming that I actually *write* a sequel to this. I left a few plotlines loose, so I certainly could continue, if you want.**

**I'm a little sad to end this. I have had a blast writing it, and I am so blessed to have readers who have stuck with me through the better chapters and the worse. I love each and every one of you for still being here as I wrap this up.**

**Special thanks to: Spockjasperlokizukowriting, Redpinkandwhite, Chick With Brains, Musician'sLuck, GU3SS, Silverwinds1313, LoneAngel666, Anonymous Loki Fangirl, Violette Lokasister, Ikuni Hattori, TED1OUS, byebye-babeh, SheWhoDreamsOutLoud, Wolfie-chanLovesAnime, FantasyFlinger, Maeven Greystone, GRexCarolinii, RosettaRose, Let's Start Rumors, .Tippy-toes, SighingWinter, and Azreal Lillith. I love you all.**

**If any of you are wondering, the song that Ande and Loki danced to is "Vindicated" by Dashboard Confessional. It was also part of my inspiration for the story's title. Credit to SpockJasperLokiZukoWriting for the idea of the steel beam! She actually drew a picture of Ande and Loki sitting on a beam for one of the earlier chapters, and I just liked that image so much, I had to use it. Thanks!**

**As the possibility of a sequel is still floating around in the air, I am unable to give you a real teaser for it. Sorry! I'll be sure to keep you updated through my Deviantart journal on my decision.**

**I can't thank you readers enough for all the support you've given me throughout the story. You have my heartfelt thanks.**

**Thanks for reading, and please review one last time!**

**-Sofia**


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